Rising Dragon
by kingdom219
Summary: To have the power of a God in the palm of your hand is amazing, eh Naruto?
1. Prologe

Rising Dragon

Konohagakure was a peaceful village. Actually, it was one of the most peaceful, not to mention strongest, villages in the elemental countries. It thrived well with its international commerce; as well as rebounding from both the Third Great Shinobi War and the attack of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox eleven years ago, showing a strong front for all the world to see. Their resolve showed their enemies that they would not be broken; not by a demon and certainly not by them. Konoha stopped the demon Kyubi, when the Yondamie (Fourth) Hokage sealed it into a newborn child at the cost of his life. His final wish was that the boy, his youngest son, was to be treated as a hero.

Sadly, that wish was never fulfilled and, because of the attacks on the child, the newly reinstated Sandamie (Third) Hokage created a law that stated that anyone who spoke of what happened thirteen years ago would be tried for treason of the highest level and executed. The worst part was that even the boys' own brother was unable to tell him of the demon within him and of his legacy.

That very boy was sitting atop the Hokage Monument watching the sunrise. The wind was softly waving his bright blond hair and orange jumpsuit. His bright cobalt blue eyes scanned the village that he loved so much, yet hated him in return. The boy was Uzumaki Naruto, and today was the Genin Graduation exam, which he was currently late for. That was the last thing on his mind as his glazed over eyes began to water and tears leaked. "I'll help you find the person," he said sniffling, wiping his eyes before finishing with a deep resolve. "I promise."

"Promise what?" a voice asked from behind the child.

Naruto yelled in surprise, jumping into the air and almost falling off the mountain side. Luckily the person grabbed him before he fell, and set him upright. The voice belonged to a man that looked to be in his mid-twenties. Like Naruto, he had bright blue eyes while a scar traveled diagonally down his left eye, meeting at his cheekbone. He was in normal Shinobi wear: loose black pants taped at the ankles, blue sandals adorning his feet, a gray long-sleeve shirt covered by his Flak Jacket and hitai-ate holding up his black hair. On his neck, just barely visible were four comma-like marks making a circle pattern. "Hello, little brother." The man chuckled at the still shocked boy in front of him.

"Kaje-nii-san? What are you doing here?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Well, I came to take you to your Genin exam."

"Oh, shit I'm late!" Naruto exclaimed running off towards the academy. In a puff of smoke Kaje was in front of him.

"I'll take you!" He smiled devilishly while tossing a three-pronged kunai towards the village academy and grabbing the clearly nervous boy.

"AH-no, I'm not tha-" Naruto never finished as they arrived in front of the Academy in an instant. Kaje was still standing, laughing while Naruto struggled to get off the ground. After a few seconds, he got up and ran into the school with a rushed 'Later!' over his shoulder.

"Uchiha Sasuke?" Umino Iruka called. The young teacher stood in front of a large class, occasionally checking off a clipboard in his hands. The man was quite unremarkable, despite his jagged scar across his nose, yet, at the same time, gave off a friendly and caring aura around him.

"Hn…" a raven-haired boy in a blue shirt and white khakis replied as usual, his charcoal black eyes never leaving the window.

"Uzumaki Naruto?" Instantly, the door burst open and Naruto fell in. "You're late Naruto." Iruka sighed, though with a tone that suggested that this type of thing was normal.

"Ha-ha, sorry Iruka-sensei. I lost track of time, so Nii-san had to come get me…" He smiled widely, scratching the back of his head.

"Okay, well, take a seat while I explain the final part of the test." Naruto did so, climbing up the center aisle before sitting next to a pale, lavender-eyed girl named Hyuga Hinata. As he sat, the girl turned a shade of red that would make an apple jealous and began to tap her fingers together, all the while trying to burrow deeper into her beige jacket. _'Still looks cute when she does that...'_ Naruto thought, with a small smile; though he kept pretending not to notice, keeping his eyes mostly at the teacher giving out directions. His eyes then wandered to his 'crush,' Haruno Sakura; a girl with shockingly pink hair and clothing to match. He waved excitedly at her while whispering her name. As usual, she rolled her green eyes and, like most of the girls in the classroom, looked towards Sasuke with adoration in her eyes.

"The final test is simple," Iruka finally stated, catching everyone's attention. "When Mizuki-sensei or I call you into the other room, you will create three simple clones. How well you do on this portion of the test will be averaged into your scores over the last two days. Good luck!"

'_Damn-it, I'm screwed…'_ Naruto thought, slamming his head onto the desk as the first person (one Aburame Shino) walked into the room, then come out shortly after with a Konoha Hitai-ate tied to his head. Naruto's chakra control had always sucked for some reason; reason being a very large fox trapped inside his body, and while the replacement and transformation jutsu were not a problem for him; the clone jutsu had eluded his grasp for quite some time. In fact, it was the reason that this would be Naruto's third attempt at the graduation test.

One by one, students went in and came out with hitai-ate a few minutes later until finally: "Uzumaki Naruto." Iruka called. Naruto got up and walked into the room with a deep breath. Upon entering the young man saw Mizuki and Iruka sitting at the table in the middle of the room. He smiled at the two before stepping in front of the table. This was his last shot at this. One more failure and he would have to be dropped from the shinobi program and live life as a civilian…_'No pressure'_ he told himself mockingly.

"Okay Naruto, make three clones and you pass." Mizuki said with a smile.

"Right! I got this!" Naruto yelled, putting his hand into the ram seal, and began to channel chakra.

'_Too much…'_ both teachers thought as large a puff of smoke filled the area. When it cleared, there stood Naruto and…a dead looking Naruto. In fact, it looked like a crash test dummy form of him: pale and limbs flailing around the floor. Naruto's heart quickly sank into his stomach.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but you fail." Iruka sighed sadly, looking at the forlorn boy.

"He did manage to make a clone Iruka." Mizuki said, smiling.

"He failed to make three, and the one he did make looks dead." Iruka said. "A mistake like that could cost him or his comrades their life. I'm sorry…" The boy nodded sadly, and slowly crept out the door.

Outside a few hours later, students were greeted by their parents and congratulated.

"Look Ma, I passed!"

"I know someone who's getting their favorite dinner."

"I'm a man like you dad, right?"

"That's right kiddo!"

Naruto sat on alone swing away from everyone else watching them with sad eyes. _'What now…'_ he thought, glaring at the happy families. What made them so damn special? _'No…I shouldn't be like that…it's no fault but my own…I shouldn't have-'_

"He just wants you to do well, you know?" Mizuki said, appearing next to him and cutting the boy out of his musings. The man sighed looking down at his student. It was quite a shock to see the normally happy child reduced to this forlorn figure.

"I know…" Naruto sighed. "Still, it feels bad that I tried so hard but still failed." He scowled a bit. "I don't have any other idea what to do…I took the exam too many times. Since I failed, I have to enlist as a civilian." He shuddered, thinking of the field day _they_ were going to have now that he wouldn't be protected as a shinobi. While the villagers had ceased their yearly, sometimes weekly, mob attacks, the glares and barring from most shops stung like a bitch.

"I'm really not supposed to tell you this, but there is another way you can pass." Mizuki said, smiling. "But it'll be hard."

"Whatever it is, I'll do it!" They boy yelled excitedly.

"Good, follow me…" Mizuki said, leaping away, Naruto not far behind.

Later that night, Iruka was lying on his bed thinking of what Sandaime Hokage had said to him as they watched the new graduates with their families, as well as Naurto from the corner of their eyes. _"He had to go through much of the same hardships as you." Sarutobi sighed. "His brother isn't around all that much, being ANBU captain in replace of Kakashi, as well as the council barring the man from any type of familial contact, so you're the closest thing to a family that boy has." _ Iruka was pulled out of his thoughts as a knock sounded at the door. As he opened it, he saw Mizuki with a worried expression. "Mizuki, what's wrong?"

Kaje leapt fast on the rooftops. He had a feeling that something bad was happening, and it involved Naruto. The Hokage had called many on-duty shinobi to search the village, and in passing he had heard mention of his brother, something that didn't bode well in his mind. As he was nearing the forest, he saw a small, slim figure appear next to him. "Hyuga Hinata," Kaje smiled. "What are you doing? I didn't expect you to be the kind of person to jump into action so fast."

"Ano…I heard that Naruto-kun is in trouble…and I-I want to help." The timid girl stuttered. "They seemed pretty a-angry with him…" Her voice was soft and slightly trembling, but not too obscured.

"Well, that's good of you. I'm sure he'd appreciate that." Suddenly, he felt a large amount of killing intent peak throughout the village. _'Looks like the others are getting restless…'_

"Kaje-sama." Hinata said. "Ano...why are they so angry? Naruto-kun wouldn't do anything too bad…"

"I can't say." He sighed. "I'll lead them the wrong way, you continue to the forest, head to the old shack in the center. He should be there!" In a blink, he was gone.

"Demo…" _'What if I can't find him…NO! I have to try…'_ a small blush formed on her face. _'For Naruto-kun…'_

Iruka landed in a small clearing next to an old wooden shack, panting heavily. He saw Naruto bent over breathing heavily as well. They young ninja in training looked up at Iruka and smiled like a kid who had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. "Hey Iruka-sensei, you found me." He smiled, scratching the back of his head. "Darn and I only mastered one technique. I can't wait to show you it, and then I get to pass, right?"

"Who told you that, Naruto?" Iruka asked, clearly shocked.

"Mizuki-sensei," Iruka's eyes widened. "He told me about the scroll and this pl-" he could not finish as Iruka pushed him out of the way of the four kunai that pinned his teacher to the wall of the shack. Naruto quickly looked up towards the attacker.

Hinata landed in the bushes just in time to see her teacher being pinned to a wall of the shack where Kaje-sama said her crush would be. "Damn," the kunoichi heard a voice say. "I had it all planned out so well, too." She looked up to see Mizuki standing on a branch near her with two large shuriken on his back, his expression shifted from one of disappointment to pleased with what was in front of him. "Naruto, give me the scroll and you pass."

"Naruto, don't give it to him!" Iruka wheezed, pulling one of the kunai from his shoulder. "He tricked you just to get the scroll! That our village's most prized scroll; it has our most dangerous techniques inside it."

"You did what!" the whiskered boy growled at the silver haired instructor while the unseen lavender eyed girl narrowed her eyes.

"He's right about that…" The silver haired chunin said with a slight chuckle. "Hey…Naruto…Do you even know _why_ the villagers hate you so much?" He asked, with a malicious smile appearing on his face.

"WH-what are you…" the man's' smile deepened as he stealthily reached for the large shuriken on his back. Before the boy could react, Mizuki threw it at Naruto. Shocked by the sudden attack, the boy crouched and closed his eyes in fear, waiting for the end.

"No, Naruto!" Two voices yelled. The sound of metal hitting flesh was heard and when Naruto looked up, Iruka was leaning over him, the shuriken in his back. Looking past his scarred and injured teacher, he saw Hinata in front of both of them in the standard Hyuga fighting stance, her Byakugan activated.

"You won't touch Naruto-kun." She said bravely, her voice more threatening than even she imagined it could be. _'I won't let him hurt Naruto-kun or Iruka-sensei any longer!'_

"Iruka-sensei…Hinata…" Naruto whispered.

"Heh…you won't be saying that when I tell you about the law." Mizuki smirked.

"What law?" she growled carefully watching for any sudden movements.

"How nobody, not even that idiot brother of his, is to speak of Naruto," He grinned. "Or more specifically," He ran at her, at speeds she couldn't quite follow. "What's inside of him!" he kicked the girl in the head, sending her sprawling into a tree, while Iruka pushed Naruto away from the group in case of a consecutive attack. Mizuki looked directly at Naruto with hate in his eyes. "You have the Kyubi sealed inside of you-NO! You ARE the Nine-Tailed Fox!"

Two sets of eyes widened. Iruka slumped to the side of Naruto, shuriken removed and on the ground, and looked at Naruto, then to Hinata. Her reaction surprised him, not that she was scared, but angry and glaring at Mizuki. Even as she struggled to get up and help her friend. The teacher turned to look at Naruto who had his head down and shoulders slightly shaking.

-click-

The other shuriken was thrown at Iruka, and then suddenly spun off into the woods, knocked away by Naruto who suddenly appeared in front of his teacher, kunai drawn. _'I didn't see him move!'_ the three thought. Laughter resounded throughout the forest. It wasn't a cackle, nor was it the laughter of an insane man, but laughter of someone who had just been told a secret that he had known for a while. Naruto lifted his head, glaring at the traitor, eyes as cold as steel, while an intelligence not seen before sprung forth. "Tell me something I don't already know."

"WHAT!" Said traitor gasped.

"And if you try and touch my friends again…" Naruto snarled, glaring up at the traitor with hooded eyes. "I _will_ kill you!"

"Ha! What can you possibly do? I'll kill you before you even move!"

Naruto continued to glare at his former teacher, making a cross with his fingers. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Instantly, thousands of Narutos, each with a large fox-like grin, filled the area around Mizuki and the others. "If I'm a demon as you say, then you should be scared."

Hinata activated her Byakugan and gaped. "They're a-all solid," she whispered in awe. _'So m-many Naruto-kun's…'_ she thought blushing as she moved to assist Iruka.

"What's the matter Mizuki-_sensei_" One of the Naruto's mocked.

"Thought you were going to kill me?" Another said.

"If you won't attack, we will!"

"CHARGE!"

"NO!" Mizuki howled as the clones closed in on him. His girlish screams could be heard throughout the nighttime air.

"Kaje," Sarutobi sighed as he closed the connection of his crystal-viewing ball. "Tell me why I shouldn't execute you right now for breaking my law to the young Hyuga heiress."

"Technically I did no such thing." The man said. "I just…pushed her in the right direction. What she heard from there was out of my hands." He smiled, glancing up from his kneeling position. "Besides, Naruto needs a friend and I think she'll be good for him. Make him come out a little more."

"Be that as it may, you will be punished for your manipulations." The old man said narrowing his eyes at the young man in front of him.. "I think a mission outside the village-undercover- is in order." the man continued, taking a small amount of pleasure as he watched the young man's smile fall. "Now I believe it's time you retrieve your brother and his friends. We…_I_ have a lot of explaining to do." He sighed slumping into his cushy chair.

"Yes, sir!" Kaje replied before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

The Sandamie Hokage sighed once more, massaging the headache that was already forming. Leaning back into his chair, he let out a puff of smoke from his pipe. "This is going to be a long night…"

* * *

**Man it is good to be back! After two plus years of no updates (frankly, life caught me by surprise) I feel like I needed to get back to doing something that I enjoyed doing. A big thank you to my beta Ohiogal593 for all her help and suggestions. I doubt this story would be half as good without her.**

**Reviews, comments, questions and flames are MORE than welcome!**

**~Kingdom219**


	2. Why Do You Hide?

Why Do You Hide?

The next day, Naruto woke up early to talk to the Hokage about what happened once more. Slowly, he put on his usual garb, ate breakfast, and put his newly equipped hitai-ate around his head. "Where you headed?" Kaje asked, appearing in the window with a backpack.

"To the old man's. Got to talk to him." Naruto smiled before looking at his backpack. "Got a mission?"

Kaje nodded, "A-rank." Naruto lost some color in his face, but tried to hide it with a smile. "I'll be fine, Otouto, don't worry…I'm in ANBU remember? I'll be gone for a few months so make sure to take care of yourself, okay?" Even with his fake smile on, Kaje could see his hurt and worry. "Why do you do that…?" He whispered, looking at him sadly.

"Do what?" Naruto asked dumbly.

"Heh, nothing kid." The older man sighed, shaking his head. "Oh, got you some family scrolls on the counter as a congratulations; some jutsus and some of Mom's clan History. It's pretty deep, Naruto, so take that in strides, but study and memorize them. It will help later on."

"YATTA!" Naruto yelled hugging his brother. "Thank you!"

"No problem." Kaje smiled. "I have to get going, but I'll see you later, okay?" He nodded, truly smiling. "I'm proud of you, ya know? Mom and Dad would have been too." With a puff of smoke, Kaje was gone.

Sarutobi was not one to use certain things heavily, such as gambling, alcohol, and in his case, smoking. It was a practice that many shinobi unfortunately fell into after long years of service, on that Sarutobi tried his hardest to avoid. But the incident last night had put a heavy toll on his mind. Only three minutes after the search was called off and the situation explained, half of the Chunin called for Naruto to be killed immediately or locked up. This caused Kaje to accidentally activate his curse mark and attack the men- all of which ended up in the hospital with broken limbs- and had to be restrained by his teammate Matarashi Anko. Those two were now being sent on a mission to assassinate a cooperate tycoon named Gato who had disappeared from Konoha's radar.

A _lot_ of things discussed the previous night were very helpful, most of which was the reason of the Kyubi's attack. According to Naruto, from what the demon said, someone whom smelt like snakes had entered his home and put him under a binding jutsu, then killed his Mate and children. Before leaving, the man said, "If you want to kill me, come find me in the Village Hidden in Tree Leaves."

He took another drag of his pipe and sighed before turning to look at the Monument of the Hokages. _'It is falling out of my hands Yondamie.'_ He thought sadly, looking at his old friend and successor. "I guess we couldn't hide the truth forever, eh, Naruto?"

"No, not forever, Old Man…" Turning around, Sarutobi saw Naruto sitting in his chair behind his desk with his trade-mark grin.

"So what do you need- HEY, DON'T TOUCH THAT!" He grabbed an orange book from the boy's hand with speed only a Hokage had and shoved it messily into a random drawer.

"You know I hate perverts, right?" Naruto asked, with a disapproving frown. "But for you, I'll make an exception." He smiled.

"This coming from the creator of a henge of a naked woman, I'm honored." The Sandamie laughed sarcastically. "I wonder how you got that image in your head, hm?" His smile deepened as he saw Naruto's embarrassed face, even with the boy trying to cover it with a glare.

After a few seconds, the young boy's face made a dramatic change, dropping to a business like look. "What are you going to do about me, then, Hokage-sama?" His voice was full of authority and his look was that of a commander, a sure fire leader in the future. "I _know_ you sugar coated some things for Hinata-chan's sake, but now it's just us. So, what are you going to do?"

The old man's face mirrored the boys before turning into a large grin. "Nothing." He said simply, causing the boy to stare at his leader in surprised shock. It made him chuckle knowing he could still surprise people, even with the simplest of things.

"WHAT?"

"That's right, nothing." The Hokage smiled. "As far as I'm concerned, you're a shinobi of the village and are a respected member of our military. Last night's activities were marked as a B-rank mission and your pay has been put into your personal account. You're now one step closer to becoming Hokage."

"Heh, thanks, Old man." He smiled with his habitably fake smile.

"Naruto, why do you do that?" Concern etched the older man's face, as he watched the young boy. It pained Hiruzen knowing that Naruto hid his potential when he had so much to give.

"Do what?"

"Have- " Just then, the door burst open and a young boy of nine ran into to room with a kunai in hand. He was wearing a yellow shirt with the village symbol on it, a blue scarf, and pants with a helmet-like thing on his head.

"Today's the day I surpass you old man!" The boy yelled before quite gracefully falling flat on his face.

"Hello Konohamaru." Was the Hokage's deadpan reply, while he massaged his temples. _'That's number twenty-seven this week…'_

The boy, Konohamaru, got up with a groan and looked around. "Hey, you tripped me!" He yelled at Naruto with an accusing finger.

"You tripped over your own feet, idiot!" Naruto shot, picking the boy up by the shirt. The two children glared at one another before another voice was heard.

"Honorable Grandson!" A male's voice yelled from the hall.

"He's in here, Ebisu." Sarutobi replied. As he finished, a man with a dark blue Gai suit and sunglasses walked in panting heavily.

"There you are-Put him down this instant!" The man, Ebisu yelled at Naruto. _'It's the demon-boy!'_

"Sorry," Naruto apologized dryly. '_I hate that look…'_

"Ha! You can't do anything because I'm the Hokage's Grandson!" Konohamaru boasted with a smug grin on his face.

Naruto looked at him with disgust before knocking him in the head and dropping the boy like a sack of bricks. "Like I care…Later, old man!" He sighed before strolling out of the room.

Naruto was walking in the park a few minutes later, a thoughtful look on his face. _'Why do I do what?'_ he asked himself, thinking of what Kaje and now the Hokage both asked. Before he could dwell more on the thought, a large rock with feet caught his attention. "Konohamaru, rocks don't have feet." As soon as he finished, the boy leapt out of his disguise, smiling.

"I'd expect nothing less from my rival!" He exclaimed.

"Rival?" He asked. "I'm no-"

"Teach me something!"

"W-what?"

"You fooled grandpa so you must be strong!"

"Ah, well, I don't like to brag…well, okay, follow me." Naruto smiled and walked towards the village with Konohamaru in toe. After a few minutes, they stopped in front of a small shack with books lying on shelves around the outside. "Hey Gon," he shouted at the clerk. "You still got that book that I looked at a few days ago? You mind if I borrow it?"

"Yeah, sure, just bring it back!" The man said tossing him an orange book.

"Great, I will!" He then turned to Konohamaru. "Let's go to the forest…so we won't be interrupted." He whispered as he watched a shadowy figure hide behind a building again. With that, the two ran off.

Two hours later, in a small clearing, the young boy sat panting heavily but smiling none the less. "I think you've got it down." Naruto said proudly. _'If pushed hard enough, this kid could go pretty far…'_ He thought. "Hey Konohamaru, do you have a dream?" He asked sitting down next to the boy.

Instantly the boy jumped up and pointed a proud finger into the air. "My dream is to be recognized as Sarutobi Konohamaru, not as the grandson of the third Hokage, and to become the next Hokage!"

"Ha ha, well you're going to have to beat me in order to do that." Naruto laughed as he stood. "Just remember, Konohamaru," he took on a serious look. "There are NO shortcuts to reach your dreams, especially one to become Hokage. Only hard work and dedication can get you there. Even dead last can do great things."

"Right, Boss!"

"And you have my admiration and respect. You're Sarutobi Konohamaru to me, not just-"

"-Honorable Grandson, get away from him!" a voice shouted. Landing in front of the two, Ebisu rushed to the boy's side. "You shouldn't associate yourself with people like him." He said disdainfully.

"Good thing there aren't that many, huh?" Naruto laughed behind his mask. _'Prob'ly only around nine…'_

"Don't talk about Naruto-Nii-san like that!" Konohamaru yelled. "Take this!" With a puff of smoke, a young naked woman with short brown hair and smoke covering her…areas, stood before the man.

"You'll have to do better, AND HOW DARE YOU TEACH THAT CHILD SUCH AN AWFUL TRICK!"

"So you're gay?" Naruto asked, causing the Jonin's face to twist into a look of horror and sputter incoherently for a moment.

"I am NOT gay!" The man yelled after his mouth began to work properly once more. "I can just resist my perverted urges well." He finished with a sagely nod.

"Really now…" Naruto smiled slyly while forming hand seals. Then hundreds of Naruto's stood in the clearing. "Close your eyes, Konohamaru." The boy nodded and did so. "HENGE!" Hundreds of naked blonde women filled the area.

The Sunglasses wearing man couldn't take it and, with blood shooting from his nose, was sent flying into a free and blissful unconsciousness. Naruto dispelled the Henge, laughing while waving goodbye to his new friend and, apparently, little brother.

An hour later, he found himself sitting in another clearing with logs sticking into the ground. As he got up to leave, a voice caught his attention. "H-Hello, Naruto-k-kun…"

Naruto stiffened before slowly turning around. Hinata stared at the young Jinchuriki with a light dusting of pink on her face. She was partially hidden behind a tree a few feet away. Truth be told, Naruto had not been prepared for a meeting with the young girl and frankly wanted to ignore her part in last nights events. Sadly it seemed fate had other plans. "H-hello…Hinata-ch-san" he stuttered, correcting his slip at the last second. It wouldn't do for the village pariah to use such a familiar term with the village princess.

Despite his cover, her cheeks glowed darker and a slightly larger smile appeared on her face. She took a few hesitant steps away from her hiding spot and walked towards the boy. A slight wind breezed between the two, causing her short bluish hair to gently caress her face. A sight that caused the young man's breath to catch for a moment before he mentally kicked himself for thinking such things. He quickly steeled himself and opened his mouth before a loud growl came from below.

Surprisingly it was Hinata who reacted by dropping her arms to her stomach and turning a deep crimson in embarrassment. Naruto could help but laugh as she stepped from one foot to the other, completely at a loss of what to say. "Would you like to get something to eat with me?" He ventured with a smile, which was quickly returned with a smile and a sharp nod.

. "Why did you do that, Hinata?" Naruto asked as Ayame placed down his and Hinata's ramen. Naruto decided for the two to eat at the Ichiraku Ramen eatery, if only to ease the tension the two felt.

"Ano…do what?" She asked nervously as she ate. She knew what he was talking about, but for the life of her, could not vocalize her thoughts; her feelings towards this wonderful young man beside her. The rejection would kill her.

"Why did you jump in front of that shuriken? In fact, why were you there at all?" He hadn't touched his food and pushed it away to look at Hinata as she spoke.

"Ano, I…um…I-" She began to tap her fingers together. She couldn't do it! Despite all her metal kicks, she could not-

"Are you afraid of me…?" Naruto whispered head dropping to look at the ground in sadness and shame.

"NO!" She shouted causing many to look over at the two. "I could _never_ be afraid of you Naruto-kun." She could hear the silent whisperings of some people and see the glares in Naruto's direction, but she didn't care about them. They meant nothing to her right now. She was horrified that he would ever think that she would be afraid of him for any reason. "Ano…I went to help because I…well; you see…I care about you…." She blushed deeply before shyly looking up at him.

He was smiling, a true smile as he looked at her. It surprised him, really, the emotion he saw in her eyes when she spoke. It was real. She truly cared about him. "Thank you…" he whispered, wiping away stray tears from his eyes. "Apart from Kaje, nobody has every really said…that they cared."

The Hyuga Heiress smiled widely. "Well, you better believe it, Naruto-kun…" she giggled.

Naruto laughed softly as he looked down at someone he could now consider a friend. He then caught some of the words someone near the two was saying to another. "What's the Hyuga Heiress doing over there with the demon brat…?"

As he put some money down, he put on his fake-smile and began to turn away and get up casually. "Well, I've got to go, so I'll see-" He stopped getting up when he felt her hand on his. He looked to see her sad eyes looking into his own.

"Why do you hide your pain behind that mask of fake happiness?" she whispered.

'_Why do you do that?'_

His face dropped and his eyes darkened. "I-I don't know anymore…" he whispered before getting up and walking away down the street. He got a good few dozen feet before he felt arms gently and nervously wrap around him. Naruto was shocked at first, but gently placed his arms on top of the persons.

"I'll see you later, okay, Naruto-kun?" Hinata whispered. He could tell by her voice that she was completely red. Yet, something in her voice had changed. A resolve of some sort broke through.

"I'll see you at the team assignments." Naruto spoke back, a small grateful smile appearing on his lips. "I've got a lot of things I need to sort through." He whispered. "Good night…Hinata-chan…" He let her arms slip away from his waist and continued onwards as she watched him disappear into the distance.

Later that night, Naruto lay in bed thinking of what had happened over the day. "Why do I hide?" He whispered to himself. After a few moments he looked to the Hokage Monument with a determined look. "No more…" he said aloud. "I'll play the fool no more…"

* * *

**Well, here is chapter two for your viewing pleasure. Just to let everyone know, I do NOT own Naruto in any way, shape, or form. If I did, I wouldn't name the damn five-tails Son Goku! Too much DBZ in my mind...**

**As always, Reviews, Questions, Comments and Flames are welcome!**

**~Kingdom219**


	3. The Genocide Clan

The Genocide Clan

A week later, students that had passed sat inside their classroom for the last time. It had been a week since Hinata had asked that one simple, yet life changing question to Naruto, and since then nobody had heard or seen him since. Hinata had gone to his apartment many times to look for him, but hadn't found him there. He wasn't even at his favorite ramen shop and apparently hadn't been there for the entire week.

As students filed in, she looked nervously at the door. _'I hope nothing happened to him…'_ she thought sadly.

"Hey, Hinata-chan." A sudden voice said next to her.

"Ah!" The surprise made her fall out of her chair with a scream. "Ita…" she grumbled as she took the hand that the boy offered. That's when she got a better look at him.

His sandals were simple black-standard ninja wear, and he wore standard faded black pants with two scroll pockets on the left leg and a weapons pouch tied to his right. A blue undershirt was mostly covered by a green long sleeve, zip-up hoodie with the Konoha symbol on the front left breast, and a white spiral design on the right arm. The hood hung loosely behind him, resting gently on his back. His head, adorned with crystal blue eyes, whisker like markings and bright blond hair which stayed up with the help of the ninja hitai-ate completed the look.

"Naruto-kun?" She asked in disbelief. He seemed much calmer and more serious than the last time she saw him and, she thought with a blush, twice, if not four times, as cute.

"Yeah, it's me." He smiled, as did she when she saw it was a real smile. "Sorry, I've been missing you all week-and thanks for the notes on my door. I've been reading up on my mother's clan."

"Y-you look good." She said, blushing. _'Actually you look like a GOD!'_ Her mind screamed in a fan-girlish way. "That's good…" she said, realizing he was talking about his clan. She sounded hurt or saddened at that for some reason.

"Thanks." He smiled again, a rose color on his cheeks. "Guess what." He whispered in her ear.

"W-what?" She asked fighting and losing the battle to suppress a blush at the closeness of her long time crush and now friend.

"I've got a bloodline."

"Really? That's wonderful, what kind?" Her eyes widened in surprise.

"It's called 'Tamashi Ha.'"

"Blade of the Soul?"

He nodded. "Yep. Its design is different depending on the person and it gives me a certain ability that I'll be able to use with my weapon."

"How many weapons can there be?" She asked, interested.

"They never found out! That's what's amazing!" He grinned. "I won't be able to get it yet. I guess that I have to pass some sort of test given to me by an elder of the clan, so I have to wait until Kaje comes home from his mission. But I do understand that they all have a similar look when they first start out."

"What exactly does your bloodline do?" She asked, timidly. While the history of the Uzumaki Clan was well known to those in the know, they never went into detail in the Hyuga Library.

"It's so cool! Basically this test is supposed to take something from inside of me- I think the scroll said it was a reflection of my soul-and creates what's called a Zanpakuto. There are two forms to them though: an Initial Release called a Shikai and a Final Release called a Bankai. Each one is opened by an individual command and each command changes the weapon differently."

"That's pretty amazing, Naruto-kun!" Hinata smiled. "I'm very happy for you!"

The blond haired boy smiled softly at the lavender eyed girl. "Ano…Hinata-chan…I also read about what happened with-"

"Hey, Naruto!" A lazy voice belonging to Nara Shikamaru said, interrupting their conversation. "What are you doing here; I thought you failed?"

"Uh, no, I passed by stopping a traitor from stealing the forbidden scroll of seals." The Uzumaki answered the lazy Nara. While it was true that the specific details of what was said that night were kept secret, the Third made no mention that Naruto could not tell any of his classmates exactly why he passed.

"I think that's a load of crap, Dobe!" Sasuke growled. It seemed that Naruto's new look and exclamation of being in a clan has touched a nerve with the young Uchiha. The attitude adjustment that the 'dead last' had gone through in only a week rubbed Sasuke in the wrong way.

"Think whatever you want, Sasuke." Naruto sighed. "I know what I know. Besides, the Hokage passed me himself because of what I did. If you don't believe me, go and ask him yourself."

"All right class, settle down!" Iruka said as he entered, unknowingly stopping the Uchiha from attacking his classmate. "I'll now announce the teams. Team 1…"

"I hope I'm on your team Hinata-chan." Naruto whispered to her causing a bit of red to form on his friend's cheeks.

"M-me too, Naruto-kun."

"Team 7 will be Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura. Your Sensei will be Hatake Kakashi."

"Kuso, kuso, kuso…" Naruto repeated, slamming his head into the desk.

"Cha! True love conquers all!" Sakura shouted causing many girls in the class to lament on how unfair it was to not be placed of the same team as 'their' Sasuke-kun. "Sucks to be you, Ino-pig!" The pinkette celebrated with a mocking finger towards her scowling rival.

"Team 8 will be Hyuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba. Your sensei will be Yuhi Kurenai."

"Oh, Damn!" Hinata mumbled, causing Naruto to laugh as she covered her mouth in surprise.

"Team 9 is still in circulation from last year, so Team 10 is an Ino-Shika-Cho team and your sensei is Sarutobi Asuma."

"What!" Ino yelled, causing many to cringe.

"As for you all, wait here for your instructors to arrive. Finally, I just want to say it has been a pleasure teaching you all. I'm sure that each and every one of you will do your village proud." With a deep bow, he was gone in a puff of smoke.

"Short and sweet." Naruto groaned. "I can't believe I'm on a team with a moody bastard and a crazy fan girl…ugh. Besides the obvious, what did I do to deserve this?" He asked Hinata, who began giggling at his antics.

"I don't know Naruto-kun, but whatever you did must make Kami pretty mad."

"Team 8, come with me." A woman said. She had black hair and, strangely, red eyes. She was wearing a red mesh armor blouse with only the right sleeve visible. Over that was a very broad bandage like material with a pattern similar to those of rose thorns. Her hands and upper thighs were wrapped in bandages while a leaf hitai-ate completed her outfit.

"See you later, Naruto-kun." Hinata smiled before kissing his cheek and running out the door. He stared after her, awestruck, but still could not wipe the smile off his face.

Half an hour had passed when Naruto decided to lie on the table. All of the other students had left by then and it was just the three. Lying down, Naruto reached behind him and grabbed a black book with the letters B-I-N-G-O written white letters on the front.

"Naruto, our sensei could be here any minute, get up!" Sakura yelled.

Without looking up from his book, Naruto sighed. "Hatake Kakashi is known as the 'Copy Cat' ninja of the leaves. Said to have copied over one thousand jutsu and is best known-at least in the village-for his tardiness which is said to be _hours_ late. We'll be here for a while."

"How do you know?" Sasuke deadpanned.

"My brother replaced him as ANBU captain, I would know." He replied, turning the page without looking at the pink haired girl or the brooding boy.

"What's with the sudden change in attitude, huh?" Sakura asked. "Last week you were obnoxious and loud, always trying to get my attention and a-"

"-Dobe."

"-at everything. Now, you're, well, the complete opposite from the looks of it. And what are you reading?"

"The newest BINGO book. And to answer your first question, I was faking it. I'm not really an idiot- as hard as it is to believe. I just pretended to be that way for my own reasons. It's also common knowledge in movies that the fool always goes after the smartest or prettiest girl, so, at the time, I followed those rules."

"Why were you gone all week?" Sasuke growled. It wasn't a question; it was more of a demand. "No one could find you in the village. Why were you gone for such a long time?" Curiosity about this sudden change was eating at him. He was fine with the Uzumaki being a fool, but for him to come out and act as if he was an equal with everyone else was a insult.

"What are you, the Hokage? I don't need to tell you."

"Answer him, Naruto!" Sakura growled going towards him as if to punch the boy in the head. "Or I'll—"

"—or you'll what?" Naruto growled back, putting his book away and glaring at the girl. "You don't scare me, Sakura. I've had worse threats over my life than a shaking fist." He sighed, looking away and rubbing the back of his neck before looking at her again. "I'm sorry, Sakura. Look, we're going to be on a team now so we might as well get along with each other so…" he stuck out his hand a clear invitation to accept his apology. She looked at it with disgust before walking back over to 'talk' with Sasuke. "Stupid fan girls…" he mumbled, grabbing a chalk eraser and placing it atop the door, then sat down with his book again. His bad mood because of his teammate had just made his pranking side want to let some steam off. It was either that or kill something…

"He's a Jonin, he won't fall for that." Sasuke said dryly.

'_You've got as much life in you as a spring leaf in Snow Country.'_ "Be funny if he did…" Naruto replied. "Besides, sometimes simple tricks work."

"Sasuke's right." The pink haired banshee yelled.

'_Of course he's right, you'd think he was right if he said pigs can fly!'_ Naruto internally grumbled while sending the girl a heated glare.

Two and a half hours later, the door opened and silver haired man with his hitai-ate over one eye and a black half-mask walked in. There was a low 'thump' as the eraser hit its mark and fell to the ground. _'Heh, it worked…'_ Naruto thought, getting up.

'_Cha! Got him!'_ Inner Sakura yelled happily, but was quickly crushed by 'normal' Sakura.

"My first thought of you all…" Kakashi said, "…I don't like you. Meet me on the roof in a half hour." And he disappeared in a puff, leaving the three confused students to stare at the space he just left.

"The roof?" Sakura asked. "Why would he want to meet us there in a half hour?" She questioned as the three began to walk. "It won't take us _that_ long to get there…"

Twenty minutes later, the trio stumbled onto the roof and sat down. "I _hate_ Genjutsu!" Naruto growled as he sat down, followed by an equally angry and tired Sasuke and Sakura.

"Let's start by introducing ourselves a little." Kakashi started. "Tell me your likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dreams." When he was answered with blank looks of confusion he continued. "I'll start off, my name is Hatake Kakashi, I have many Likes and Dislikes, My hobbies are…and my dreams are none of your concern. You're up pinky." He said as his right eye formed a sort of smiley 'U'.

'_That was informative…'_ Naruto inwardly sighed.

"My name is Haruno Sakura, my like," Looks to Sasuke and giggles. "Dislikes," Looks to Naruto and growls, "And my dream is to," Looks to Sasuke, blushes, then giggles hysterically.

'_Fan-girls…'_ Naruto and Kakashi thought miserably. "You're up, moody."

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don't have many likes and I hate nearly everything. My dream…no…my ambition is to kill a certain man."

'_That's predictable.'_

'_Itachi…'_

"You're up…" Kakashi said, slightly glaring at Naruto.

'_Another stuck up ba-'_ he cut himself off mentally before speaking. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto." He said calmly. "I like learning about my clans and other clans as well as the history of the many different villages around the world and their Nuke-nin. I also like talking with my friend, Hyuga Hinata, and training with my older brother, Kaje. I dislike people who judge others without getting to know them and those who underestimate others**. **My dream is to become Hokage and also to kill a certain man."

The last part was returned with odd looks for the three individuals, each wondering who the boy could be talking about.

"Well now that I've gotten to know you guys a bit better…" Kakashi smiled, cutting himself off abruptly. "Meet me tomorrow at training ground 7 at 6 am sharp. Oh yeah, don't eat anything, you'll just throw it back up." He smiled before disappearing.

"THAT'S IT?" Sakura yelled.

"I guess so…" Naruto sighed, pulling out his BINGO book. "See ya!" He said nonchalantly, as he headed back down the stairs.

A few minutes later, he was walking aimlessly around town when a voice called out. "Naruto-kun!" He turned to see Hinata walking up to him with Shino and Kiba, who gave him a look which said clearly said 'stay away from her.'

"Hey, Hinata-chan!" He smiled, putting his book away. "How'd it go?"

"Pretty good. This is Shino and Kiba." Shino looked pretty dull, but mysterious with his white raised collar jacket and sunglasses. Kiba, on the other hand, looked like a stuck up ass with a cocky grin. The dog in his jacket hood barked. "And Akumaru, too." She giggled, giving the dog a little pet on the head. "We're just going to get something to eat, would you like to join?"

"Su—"

"-Fight me!" The four turned to see Sasuke storming toward the group with Sakura close behind. Team 9 was ironically coming from the opposite direction just in time to see the spectacle.

"I don't want to, Uchiha." Naruto growled, before turning back to Hinata with a more pleasant expression. "Sure, let's go. I'm pretty hungry anyway."

"Don't turn your back to me, Uzumkai!" Sasuke yelled.

Naruto stopped mid-step. Hinata could tell he was getting annoyed. "Or…what?" Naruto growled lifting his head in a sideways glare. "Shove off…" he spat.

Faster than anyone could react, Sasuke pulled out a kunai and rushed Naruto. The blond quickly and, seemingly, easily sidestepped and grabbed the Uchiha's wrist, turning it painfully and placing his own kunai to the Uchiha's throat. No one moved. No one made a sound. From their training, everyone knew that if the blond moved his hand even an inch, the raven haired boy would be bleeding to death in the street.

"N-Naruto…"Shikamaru said, stepping forward, eyes slightly wide."Let him go, it's too troublesome to kill him."

"I wasn't going to kill him." He replied, eyes never leaving Sasuke's surprised and slightly scared ones. "As an Heir to your clan you should know that, for what his clan did to mine, I _should_ kill him now…" He pressed the blade harder on his neck causing everyone to gasp. Sasuke's eyes grew wide as a drop of blood came from his skin.

"N-Naruto-kun, let him go…" Hinata pleaded. "Please…"

Slowly, Naruto lowered the blade and stepped back. He looked sadly at the group around him. "Sorry…I lost my nerve." He then turned to look at Sasuke who was being 'tended' to by Sakura and Ino. "We forgave the Hyuga a long time ago." He told the boy. "I'd forgive you if you'd change that arrogant attitude of yours." A glare was the only answer he received.

"What the hell's the matter with you, huh?" Sakura and Ino shouted. "You could have seriously hurt Sasuke-kun!"

"SHUT UP!" Shouted, surprisingly, Hinata. "This doesn't concern you!"

"If it involves Sas-"

"Well it doesn't, this is clan business…" Shikamaru sighed. "Hey Naruto, where're you going?" The group turned to see Naruto walking away, Sasuke doing the same in the opposite direction.

When the two had disappeared behind buildings, Hinata sighed. "It happened a long time ago," Hinata said. "It was pretty bad." She turned to Shikamaru. "He must be taking it in pretty hard." The Nara nodded.

"Taking what hard?" Ino asked.

"It happened fifty years ago," Shikamaru sighed in a bored tone. "There were three clans that were the 'top dogs' in the village at that time; The Hyuga, the Uchiha, and the newly instated Uzumaki; each one renowned for their bloodline. The Byakugan for its sight, Sharingan for its copying ability and what is known as the Tamashi Ha, for its ability to manifest a person's soul into the form of a weapon. This is what made them the strongest clan over the other two. To be one with your own soul is an amazing gift, let alone fight alongside and with it"

Shikamaru sighed before sitting down cross-legged, muttering something about clan wars being troublesome. "This didn't go too well with the other two mostly for their idea of their clan being superior to everyone else. At the time, the clan wars weren't that much of a distant memory, many of the people that fought in them were still alive and had ideas of superiority. So the two clans, in a surprising act of solidarity, decided to do something about it. "

"What'd they do?" Kiba asked with a look of boredom. "They try exile them or something?"

"We killed them…" Hinata said sadly. There was a collective gasp among the group. "It was as close to a civil war as the village has ever gotten."

"It was an act of Genocide." Shikamaru stated. "They were the largest clan in history by far, over two hundred people, and in one night, that number was cut down to twenty-four. The members of the Hyuga and Uchiha clan that participated in the murder were all publicly executed by the Second Hokage, to show that that type of behavior would not be tolerated."

"Its actually where the Hyuga Cursed Seal that the branch family uses comes from." Hinata spoke, though with a soft tone. She wasn't sure if this was revealing a clan secret to outsiders or not, but she did know that if her father found out what she was telling, she would be in a world of hurt. "As punishment for their actions."

"Well, the Uzumaki clan's number increased as time went by, right?" Ino said. "Unless, they were all old..." She cringed.

"It grew, yes, but then it was destroyed again." Shikamaru corrected.

"When?"

"When the Kyubi attacked." Shino answered. The area where the Kyubi first appeared was directly over the former Uzumaki Compound. They were all killed in a matter of moments."

"So Naruto is the last of his clan?" Sakura asked.

"He has a brother." Hinata answered.

"That doesn't help with rebuilding his clan." Kiba said. "Unless he's into that k-"

"Keep quiet Kiba." Shino cut the boy off noticing the glare Hinata was sending the Inuzuka.

"Naruto is just finding out about his family history, so he's not acting normal. This stuff is new to him. How would you feel if you found out that your friend's clan, and your teammate's Clan, murdered yours?" Shikamaru asked cryptically.

There was a long silence before anyone spoke, which made everyone slump in surprise. "I still think Sasuke-kun is better…" Sakura giggled.

"And he's much better than Naruto. Grabbing Sasuke's arm was a fluke." Ino added. The group could only stare at the two girls in disbelief.

"You two are such idiots!" Hinata yelled, tossing her arms into the air as if giving up. _'If he wanted to, Naruto could destroy this whole village…'_ she thought grimly before turning and storming off angrily.

"Where are you going?" Shikamaru asked, surprised at this new side of Hinata, as was everyone.

"I'm going to go talk to Naruto before he does something stupid. I'll see you later, Shino, Kiba tomorrow for training at ground 8 at nine!" She replied, before walking off in the direction Naruto went.

* * *

**And here is Chapter three. I hope everyone could see and like the changes I've made so far. **

**The usual Questions, Comments, Reviews and Flames welcome!**

**Thanks again!**

**~Kingdom219**


	4. Team 7

Team 7

At eight o'clock the next morning, Naruto arrived at training ground 7, BINGO book in hand, silently reading. He was in the same clothes as yesterday, but he looked like he hadn't had much sleep, and was in deep thought. His eyes were not taking in the words as he meandered towards his two teammates. He was violently pulled from his musings when Sakura caught sight of him coming over to them.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura yelled with an accusing finger. A large, angry scowl adorned her face as she looked at her tardy teammate in disgust.

"If I said I got lost on the road of life, would you believe me?" He asked with a small yawn, putting his book away into his back pouch. "I slept in and Kakashi isn't here yet." He muttered, glancing about the small bridge that connected to training ground seven. He found it highly ironic that Team 7 was meeting at the 7 created training grounds. He had to hold himself back from snapping at the pink haired girl. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with her screeching voice and over the top behavior.

"Still doesn't matter, dobe." Sasuke said with his eyes closed leaning against a tree. He opened his eyes and looked at him coldly. "What page are you on?"

"Why would _you-_?" Naruto mumbled coldly, but then winced as his arm began to hurt. Hinata had certainly given him a lot to think about when she had eventually caught up to him after he had left. She had told him that she and Shikamaru explained to the rookies of their class the background between the Hyuga, Uchiha and Uzumaki. While his attitude may have changed from the loud, goofball that he had been pretending to be, his stubbornness had not disappeared. He had also found out that Hinata had changed dramatically from the shy girl she used to be; one that, if he was honest, put him in his place quite quickly.

"_It happened a long time ago." He remembered Hinata saying the other night as the two stood atop the stone head of the Fourth Hokage. He was in no mood to talk but she had finally had him cornered._

"_It still doesn't change the fact that they did what they did…" He replied coldly. "He's arrogant, self-centered, and has a major superiority complex. Everything that my mother's clan said they were." She looked hurt but then that turned to anger in an instant._

"_So then, why not treat me like you do him?" She asked glaring at the boy. She couldn't understand his logic "My clan played a part in it too. They're attitudes are just like the Uchiha's used to be, maybe even worse."_

"_Because you're my friend." he smiled, as if it explained everything._

"_Idiot!" She growled, Byakugan activating as she rushed him, poised to strike.._

"Well?" Sasuke said impatiently. Naruto blinked slowly, eyes becoming blank as he looked at the black haired boy. Maybe Hinata was right. The sins of the father should not be passed onto the son, or daughter, as she put it. Everyone deserved a second chance. He may not like the boy-his holier-than-thou attitude really pissed him off- but he was going to have to work with him for quite some time. Hell, maybe he could change…

The two locked eyes before the blond boy answered in a flat tone. "Uchiha Itachi." Sasuke showed no emotion on his face, but Naruto could just faintly pick out a slight darkening of the young man's black eyes before the self proclaimed Avenger scuffed and leaned against the tree once more.

Naruto mentally sighed, sitting down on the bridge and reopening his book to try and continue reading. The past week had been an emotional rollercoaster that he was not used to. From finding out about the Kyubi, to learning about his mother, (_'Kushina'_ he thought with a soft sigh and a both painful yet gleeful jump inside his chest), and her clans abilities. He finally had a piece of the puzzle that was his life.

Looking inside the BINGO book he was reading he smiled at the picture hidden inside. A young woman of 20 smiled up at him. She was wearing dark blue pants, taped at the ankles with an even lighter blue tape, while a white light zip-up hooded jacket, with black mesh sides covered her torso. The Uzumaki crest adorned both mid-forearm sleeves right above the elbow. A wide, orange lattice belt with, what looked to be a sword sheath through it. Upon her shoulder sat a black curved blade. The blade itself seemed to be oddly curved to be able to fit into the sheath as the blade seemed to get slightly wider as one traced it way up the blade before thinning down once more toward the tip. The oddest thing about the blade was the large 'C' shaped chip in it.

Setting the picture aside on his lap, facedown- no need for the others to be snooping around it- Naruto sighed and, once again, continued reading. An hour later, a puff of smoke appeared in the middle of the trio. "Yo!" Kakashi smiled. In his hands was an alarm clock, two bells and a lunch box.

"_YOU'RE_ LATE!" Sakura yelled.

"Sorry, I got lost of the road of life." The Jonin explained, waving his hand in a 'calm down' fashion.

"LIAR!" The young Kunoichi roared. The silver haired man's ploy obviously didn't work…

"So why are we here?" Sasuke asked, standing up from his sitting position against the tree and joining the girl, but staying a respectable distance. Naruto nodded, putting his book away and joining the other two.

"You're going to take a survival test to see if you can become Genin." Kakashi, once again 'smiled'; his eye once again doing its little 'U' while at the same time, he pulled from his back pouch two small bells attached to strings and an alarm clock. He placed the alarm clock onto the ground, all without taking his eyes of the Genin.

"But we already did that." Naruto thought aloud. "It was one of the tests we had to take in the academy final…"

"That was to see if you had what it takes to be _at_ Genin level." Kakashi answered. "Out of the sixty some-odd people that passed the academy final exam, only nine of you will go on to become ninja. This is the same in all of the Twelve academies here in the village**.*** Each of the squad's sensei are testing their students today and decide who is the best to be added into your regiment. Now, your test, your _job_, is to get these bells from me." He said tying the two bells to his side. "Come at me with the intent to kill, It's the only way you'll get them."

"But Kakashi-sensei, there are only two bells and three of us." Sakura said. "And isn't that a bit dangerous."

"That's right; the one without a bell at the end of three hours will be tied to one of those posts and watch as we eat our lunch and that person goes back to the Academy." He replied pointing to three stumps in the ground behind them and held up the lunch box. "And I'm sure I'll be fine." He commented, almost mockingly.

'_That's where Hinata-chan and I first talked last week.'_ Naruto smiled, still looking at the stumps. "When do we start?" He asked, turning to their teacher and placing a wicked grin upon his face.

"Hmm…now!" Instantly, the tree jumped into the trees in different directions. Kakashi sighed pulling out an orange book and began to read and walk around. He could easily sense their charka. "Good." He mumbled. "They're all well hidden." While he knew that the three of them were no match for an elite such as him, he was quite impressed with their abilities to hide themselves within in their environment. "No, wait. There's Naruto…" He turned to see Naruto with his arms crossed and a smug smile spread across his face. "I thought you changed, Naruto." He sighed turning back to his book. From what he had seen yesterday, the boy seemed to have dropped his stupid act. Apparently his initial guess had been wrong…

"Hell NO!" Naruto yelled throwing a shuriken at the older man who simply caught it between his fingers. Naruto growled and rushed him with a right hook that Kakashi easily dodged. Naruto pivoted into a sweeping kick which was again avoided. Naruto stood before punching at Kakashi's chest with a sloppy uppercut, which hit nothing but air. The boy looked around, confused, before Kakashi spoke coming from behind him.

"You should never leave you back unguarded to an enemy; Konoha's greatest technique: Sennen Goroshi!" He yelled, ignoring Sakura's startled shout for Naruto to get out of the way, and stabbing the edge of his book up Naruto's butt. There was a loud 'pop' before the blond was sent flying into the air screaming and clutching his rear. To the older man's surprise, Naruto burst into a puff of smoke right before hitting the stream water. _'A Shadow Clone…'_ Eye narrowed in suspicion, as he gave the area a once over. _'Seems he's smarter than I gave credit for…maybe Kaje is right…'_ Brushing these thoughts away, Kakashi, seemingly aimlessly, began in the direction of the team's bookworm.

Two hundred feet away, crouched upon a branch, was the real Naruto. His eyes were closed in concentration, thinking of a plan. He felt the clone disperse and its memories appear before his eyes. "I've got to find the others…" He sighed before leaping towards Sakura's direction.

Sakura watched as Naruto somehow disappeared before getting up and running. "I have to find Sasuke-kun." She said, though her inner voice was cursing her out for shouting out to Naruto like that and giving away their position. She quickly shut the voice out and continued running, as she was about to enter a clearing she saw Kakashi appear before her and skidded to a stop.

"Hey Sakura…" whispered a voice behind her. She turned to see another Kakashi bent low and in a hand seal while giving another U smile.

"What…?" she gasped as leaves began to swirl around her, then, she was the clearing she was headed towards. Looking around franticly she had lost sight of her teacher. "Where'd he go?" she yelled in frustration. She wanted a chance to prove herself, damn-it!

"Sakura…" an all too familiar voice whispered.

"Sasuke-kun?" She gasped happily, turning towards the voice. In the shadow of a tree, leaning against it, was Sasuke. He was bloodied up with Shuriken and Kunai sticking out of his back and chest. Eerily he reached out his hand and whispered again. "Sakura…" before the young Uchiha slumped over and onto the ground with a soft _thump_. The image was too much for the crazed fan-girl and she screamed fainting, just as Naruto landed in the clearing.

He looked at Sasuke in disgust, forming the ram seal while pulsing his chakra, causing Sasuke to quickly fade from existence. "I hate Genjutsu…" Naruto muttered, pulling out a water bottle, taking a sip, and dumping some onto the fallen girls' face, who in turn woke up with a start.

"Sasuke-kun…?" She mumbled sitting up. "Naruto? Where's Sasuke-kun?"

He laughed, answering, "It was a Genjutsu; But come on, I think I've figured out this test."

"I doubt it…" Sakura muttered with a not so subtle eye roll.

"We can't beat him by ourselves." Naruto continued jumping through the trees and ignoring his disbelieving teammate. "We need to use teamwork. He's testing us on that; putting us against one another as well as on the basic skills. I lost-or at least my clone did- to Taijustsu, half assed as it was. You lost to Genjutsu and Sasuke will most likely fail to Ninjutsu."

"Sasuke-kun wouldn't lose!" she argued. "But where is he?"

"He probably dug himself into a hole somewhere." He answered as they landed. Oddly enough, Sasuke _was_ in fact, neck deep in the ground in the clearing they had just landed in. "Hey, I was right." Naruto smiled taking out a kunai. "Need any help?"

"No!" Sasuke yelled, eyes glaring at the two 'weaklings.' "I don't need help from a weakling girl, and especially not from an Uzumaki!" Once again, the Uchiha scion found a blade under his neck.

"Look at me." Naruto growled at the boy, his eyes dark and narrowed.

"DON'T TOUCH SAS-Ah…" She stopped when she felt the amount to focused killing intent Naruto was omitting. It was like nothing she'd every felt. While the academy instructors had taught them what 'killing intent' was, it was an entirely different subject when faced with it. _'The air is so heavy…'_ Sakura thought, her breaths coming out in shallow pants, _'and it's not focused on me…'_

"I said look at me, Sasuke-teme." The Uchiha did so, locking eyes with the Uzumaki. While the boy looked scared, he also held a shred of defiance within. He would not back down from a challenge. "You _can't_ kill him on your own, especially the way you are now." Naruto spoke, simply watching Sasuke's eyes widen in anger. "I could say you people got what was coming to you, but I'm not that kind of guy." He removed the blade and speaking in a much softer tone. "We need to work together to beat Kakashi-sensei, otherwise, we're screwed." He continued as he dug down. "What happened between our clans, happened a LONG time ago, and I'm willing to end that conflict today, and help you with yours-You'll kill him, don't worry—" He quickly added, seeing that Sasuke was about to argue. "But you'll have to help me find someone I need to kill as well." He pulled Sasuke up and smiled.

"Why would you want to help me?" He asked giving him an unsure look.

"Someone killed the family of a close friend of mine and caused a lot of problems for me, so in a sense, I'm also an Avenger. I'll help you find Itachi, if you help me find my snake in the grass. After all, a group of stones in water is stronger than a single pebble." With that, he extended his hand. Nothing happened for a few moments, then, slowly, Sasuke shook the offered hand with a smirk.

"This doesn't change anything between us." He commented while quickly letting go of his fellow teammate's hand. "You're still dead last."

"And you're still a bastard, so we're even." Naruto smiled, turning to the thoroughly confused kunoichi. "Oi, Sakura, come here. I've got a plan!"

Kakashi sighed as he put his book away and checked the time. The three had ten minutes left and they hadn't attacked in over an hour. As he was about to go get them to tell them they had failed the test, he heard the sounds fighting. As the Jonin turned in the direction the ruckus was coming from, Naruto and Sasuke rolled out of a bush and began to attack one another relentlessly. The two were rolling around desperately trying to punch and kick the other, forgoing any and all kind of Taijutsu decorum. The two threw each other off and stood glaring at one another. Naruto's back to a confused Kakashi.

"That's right, you heard what I said, you bastard!" Naruto yelled spitting blood from his mouth. "You Uchiha got what you deserved; what goes around comes around."

"It's a shame we didn't get all of you losers." Sasuke growled. "It would have saved this village a lot of problems."

"The problem is your clan, or should I say 'was'?" Naruto grinned cruelly. _'This'll hurt…'_ "Thank god for Itachi, huh?"

"You son of a bitch!" Sasuke charged his offender, eyes flashing in rage all the while breezing through hand seals. Kakashi's eyes widened and tried to stop the pissed off Uchiha by pushing the young Uzumaki out of the way. His surprise increased as he watched Naruto grab Sasuke and kangaroo kick the Uchiha towards the still running Jonin. "Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu!" A burst of flames spewed from his mouth and headed straight for the former ANBU. Kakashi jumped out of the way of the fireball but was once again surprised as a small animal that went unnoticed at his feet suddenly turned into Sakura who grabbed the bells and tossed them to Sasuke and Naruto just at a sharp ringing went off in the distance signaling the end of the test.

"Looks like we won, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura smiled, walking to the group. When she got next to them, Naruto handed her the bell. "We pass right?"

"Sorry, but only two of you do." He answered with a soft chuckle. "Naruto doesn't have a bell, so that means…"

"…He goes back to the Academy." Sasuke finished with a frown.

Sakura looked at Naruto sadly, only to see him smiling. "You…you planned that…didn't you?" She asked. _'Cha! Bastard manipulated us into winning a bell for us and Sasuke!'_

""Heh, yeah…" the blond boy answered, scratching the back of his neck with a hesitant smile towards the two Genin. "Well, I'll see you two around, I guess. Maybe I'll be Top Student next year, eh, Sasuke?" with that, Naruto began to walk away with a backwards wave. "By the way, good luck you two…you weren't as bad as I had originally thought."

'_He's going to sacrifice himself for his teammates…'_ Kakashi thought. _'Just like…'_ he stopped when he heard a bell hit the ground. Kakashi looked to see Sasuke without a bell.

"If the dobe doesn't pass, neither do I." He said walking up to Naruto, who had stopped and looked at them like he was crazy. Sakura looked at Kakashi, then Sasuke, and tossed her bell on the ground and chased after him. "Wait up, Sasuke-kun!" The three shinobi stood next to each other looking patiently at Kakashi.

"If that's how it's going to be…" He said looking at the group with a stern gaze. "You all…pass." His eye formed his now classic 'U' smile. "Team 7 is now an official Genin cell."

"Yes!" Sakura and Naruto yelled while Sasuke just smirked.

"You start missions tomorrow at eight o'clock sharp. See ya!" And '_poof_', he was gone.

"So who's up for some ramen?" Naruto smiled. "My treat! What do you say Sasuke?"

"I'm going home." He replied, walking back toward the village.

"Okay, how about you Sak-"

"Wait for me Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled running after him. Naruto sighed smiling and continued to Ichiraku. _'Ah well, baby steps Naruto…baby steps…'_

"Two orders of miso ramen, Ayame-nee-chan." Naruto said sitting down into his usual seat with a soft sigh. Ayame gave a soft smile and a nod before heading in the back of the shop to make her 'little brother' a congratulatory bowl.

"Naruto-kun!" An excited voice shouted. He turned to see Hinata running up to him with a wide smile upon her face. Although she looked particularly dirty with twigs in her hair and splotches of mud covering her normally pristine clothing. Nonetheless, she looked ecstatic.

"Hey Hinat-oof!" He smiled as she ran up and hugged him, nearly unseating him in the process.

"We passed!" she smiled pulling away, her eyes lighting up with happiness. "We start missions tomorrow!"

"Ha-ha, same here." Naruto smiled back, not realizing that he had just now let her out of the tight hug, something that he found himself very reluctant to do. "Let's get you some ramen and we'll talk about how your test went." She nodded and sat next to him, ordering a bowl of vegetable ramen and settling into the comfortable atmosphere of her friend.

The rest of the day, the two walked around town chatting about their test and what they thought their missions would be like. Soon it was nighttime and the two were outside the Hyuga complex.

"Today was wonderful, Naruto-kun…" Hinata sighed, shyly.

"Yeah, we should do it again sometime." He replied rubbing the back of his neck. "Thank you…"

"For what?"

"Everything…" he smiled. "Even though you had to Juken me, you made me see that what happened to my clan happened in the past; that I shouldn't blame others for their ancestors' actions."

"I'm sorry…" she blushed, embarrassed that she actually attacked her crush.

"Don't be, there's no need. You also accepted me for who I am, not what I hold."

"Naruto-kun…" the young girl mumbled, eyes glistening, and a soft smile on her face.

"I'll see you around." He smiled and began to walk away.

"Naruto, wait!" He turned around and walked back to her, seeing her shy hand motion. She blushed before wrapping her arms around him tightly. He smiled and hugged her back just as tight. "Good night, Naruto-kun." She whispered into his ear before running into her house.

Naruto smiled, while forcing down a very pleasurable shiver and blush, watching her go inside before heading home himself. Tomorrow he would start his new career as a ninja of the Hidden Leaves. He could not wait!

* * *

**Author's Note  
**

** * I don't really think that every year they only pass 9 people to add to their military. I think that there are a good number of upper year classes, and other academies around the village this size, and in my story there are 12. So mathematically, they would add at least 108 people into their ranks which are much better than only 9.**

**Anyway, I'm glad to be back. The Update rate for this story is going to be hit now that I'm back to school, but I'm going to strive to not pull another two year BS session. Chapter 5 and 6 will be up ASAP!**

**And as always, a huge thanks to ****Ohiogal593 **for being such a wonderful Beta! Her suggestions make this story so much better! =)  


**~Kingdom219**


	5. Meeting Hanabi

**Author's Note**

**Hey guys, I'm back. Sorry once again for the long while since my last update. both My and ********Ohiogal593 **schools have started so classes have been in full swing. I have been writing though, and as soon as I get chapters 6, 7, and 8 to her and back, I'll post them ASAP.

**I do not own Naruto or Bleach!  
**

* * *

**Meeting Hanabi**

The forest area was dead quiet. Not a sound could be head as a small lithe figure padded quickly through the underbrush. Silently, the creature continued on its way, running from it pursuers. It had been running for a few hours now; dodging and avoiding capture. It would not be trapped again! It had escaped captivity from it's 'masters' nearly one hundred times before; this time it would be free! It stopped in a small clearing to catch its breath while yellow eyes scanned the area. Hearing a noise, it took off sprinting into the bushes once again. A moment later, three large shadowy figures landed in the same spot, before jumping off into different directions.

"This is Fox-boy, I'm in position." Naruto whispered into this headpiece. He and his clones had tracked their target for hours now and had finally caught up with it. If he was honest, he was _a bit_ annoyed that they had to find this particular target again. But a mission was a mission, and as Kaje had put it, they ALL had some aspect that would help the village, even if he couldn't see it right now. It didn't take long for Sakura to answer his call.

"Roger fox-boy, this is Princess, ready and waiting. What's your status Avenger?" Naruto, sadly, could hear the excited quiver in the pinkette's voice as she spoke Sasuke's codename. _I really need to get her out of this fan-girl phase, or she'll get us killed._ He thought with a sigh as Sasuke answered.

"Avenger is in position."

"Target sighted. Confirm target, Avenger." Sakura spoke with a slight harshness as she watched the target begin to take a drink from the river they had surrounded. Naruto's clones had quickly followed their prey throughout the village, trying to find a pattern that the team could use for it capture. Once a pattern was found, Team 7 had begun to lure it to where they wanted it to go. It was time to see if their plan would actually pay off.

"That's it." Sasuke confirmed. "Avenger is going in!" The Uchiha leapt into action.

The creature paused to get a drink of water. It was tired from running and needed to rest. That rest wouldn't happen because suddenly Sasuke leaped out of the bushes straight towards it. The cat, as it turned out to be, leaped away and landed on a surprised Sakura, jumping off just before she could get her hands of it. As it leaped it was suddenly swiped from the air by a diving Naruto. The cat struggled to get free but failed at which time; it decided to viciously scratch its captors face.

"Target acquired!" Naruto shouted through the ear piece as he tried to pry the cat from his face. Their plan had worked, for the most part. Sasuke and Naruto were supposed to scare the cat into Sakura's waiting arms, but Sasuke had tried to grab the cat himself, again, and a startled Sakura when the cat tried to get away. Naruto, the team decided, would not handle the cat, as it seemed to want to try and kill him when the blond held it. Naruto suspected that the poor thing was going through flight or fight because of the Kyubi. But, I plan is a plan and none of them go accordingly. Mission accomplished!

"Excellent!" Kakashi's bored voice sounded into their ears. Just from his tone, the team could tell he was reading his smut. "Head for the tower and I'll meet you there for a debriefing."

* * *

"Oh my dear, Toma!" A plump woman wearing a purple dress and hat squealed as she squeezed the poor cat a bit too hard. "I thought I lost you!" Said cat was currently being nuzzled to death between the woman's breasts, looking both put out and about to die. The woman, who was the Daimyo's wife, thanked the team profusely, and handed the Hokage a slip of paper, before walking away; the poor cats mewls for mercy fading in the distance.

"No wonder that damn cat runs away…" Naruto muttered to Sasuke who gave his normal stoic reply. "That's got to be the fourth— "

"—Fifth," Sakura corrected quietly.

"-Fifth time this week we've had to find that thing." It had been three months since Team 7 had been officially assigned, and the only 'missions' they've had were stuff a kid next door could do. It seemed that the D-rank missions were just chores that the civilians were either too lazy to do themselves or were too old to do. The older civilians that asked for missions, Naruto didn't mind as much, even if they a good few of them didn't like him. Alt_hough a few of them seemed almost respectful towards me._ He thought, with curiosity. _Almost like they knew me…or someone like me…_ Currently, the trio and Kakashi were waiting for their next mission from Sandaime Hokage and Iruka, who was taking the break from the academy to help the Hokage with assigning missions. After the old man had called and ANBU to bring the slip to the payment department, he turned to Team 7.

"Congratulations are in order, once again, Team 7. You have successfully completed the capture of Toma the cat once more. Your payments will be sent to you by the end of the week as usual—Naruto, if you have any more problems, let me know and I will take care of it; although, with our newest head clerk, you should be fine. Now, Kakashi, your team could either wash the windows at the Academy or—"

"—Toma no come back!"

"—Go get that cat again…" The Professor rubbed his forehead in frustration, imagining the storm that that cat has caused thousands of Genin over the years.

"We'll take the windows." Kakashi smiled, inwardly cringing at the thought of that cat. How it was still alive, he would never know. That cat had been around since _he_ was a Genin.

"With all due respect, old man," Naruto interrupted, crossing his arms. "I'm getting bored of these 'missions' as you call them. Looks to me like the stuff the kid down the street could do."

"Naruto, watch your mouth!" Iruka yelled. "how dare you speak to Hokage-sama like that, with such disrespect? Do I need to lecture you again on the reason you are given these missions?"

"I understand _why_ we are given them, Iruka-sensei." The young Uzumaki spoke, motioning the man to calm down. "I just don't understand how it will help us gain experience. We've done nearly three missions a day for the past month and a half—That's almost ninety D-ranks—I think we are ready for something a little higher."

"I hate to say it, but I agree with the dobe." Sasuke sighed. "We know." He quickly added cutting Sakura off as she was about to speak up.

The Hokage smiled at Naruto's boldness and replied. "What did you have in mind Naruto?"

"Well, we've completed how many D-class missions?"

"Ninety—well, ninety-one if you include the Fire Lords cat." Iruka answered.

"Well, I think we're up for a simple C-class, at least." Naruto shrugged smiling. "I mean, our teamwork is good—needs some improvement—but it's still good. Plus, Kakashi-sensei will be with us, so if anything goes wrong, he could back us up."

"You've made your point." Sarutobi stated tossing Kakashi a yellow scroll. "The mission is to guard a bridge builder named Tazuna home safely and help him complete his bridge." The fire-shadow then reached over and pressed a button on the intercom atop his desk. "Come on in."

In walked, or at least stumbled, an old wild grey haired man in a grey shirt and brown shorts. He slumped against the door frame and looked at the team with drooping eyes, before taking a sip from the jug he was carrying. The Sake coming from him was burning Naruto's nostrils, already setting him on edge. "These is my escort?" The man, Tazuna, slurred. "Looks like a scarecrow, a ditz, an Emo-freak, and a midget." Another swig of sake. "These brats look like they couldn't handle a five-year-old let alone a super constructor like myself.

'_I GET IT, I'M SMALL!'_ Naruto growled inwardly, taking a small step towards their client. He was stopped from going further when Kakashi placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry," Kakashi smiled to the man; he either ignored the comment or paid no attention. "I'm very sure my team can handle this, but if something does go wrong, I'm a Jonin level ninja." Turning to his team he got a stern look. "Your mission starts in two hours. Meet at the southern gate, dismissed!" With that, the group went to pack.

* * *

"Well, I have an hour left…" Naruto sighed as he walked around with his green back pack, both straps. "I wonder what Hinata-chan is up to?" He asked himself as he noticed he was at training ground 8. He hadn't seen his friend for a week now since Team 8 would take missions that would take them to the outskirts of the village. It was a perk of being a tracking and capture team. As he turned around a bend of trees, he could hear a voice yelling. The voice turned out to be Sarutobi Konohamaru. He seemed to be yelling at a girl around his age. Said girl, Naruto could tell, was a Hyuga with her black hair and grey, nearly white, eyes and wearing plain purple shirt and pants, although he could just make out the Hyuga crest on her right shoulder. A few yards away from the arguing pair were Team 8 and two kids of Konohamaru's age.

"Hey Hinata-chan!" Naruto smiled walking to her. The Hyuga heir turned to the blonde and smiled hesitantly before returning her focus on the young kids. "Shino, dog breath." Shino nodded while Kiba growled. "What's wrong with these two?" He watched Konohamaru continued to rant, while the girl just stared coldly at him, although if you looked closely, you could see her left eye give a small twitch.

"Konohamaru-kun is mad at Hanabi-san for breaking his crayons today," A sickly sounding boy in blue said, "She didn't say sorry to him. She's always being so mean to everyone." He was standing next to a girl in orange pig tails and what seemed to be a permanent blush on her face.

"Hello Moegi, Udon, how have you two been?" The two just shrugged and continued to watch. "Is that your sister, Hinata-chan?"

"Yes Naruto-kun…" She sighed. She really didn't like her sister's attitude as of late. She used to be such a sweet little girl. But then the elders got a hold of her and brainwashed her into thinking she was better than everyone. An attitude that one day may get her killed.

"Yeesh…She seems happy…"

"—and another thing!" Konohamaru yelled getting closer to the young girls face. "You NEVER smile or laugh! What are you, dead or something?" He asked pinching her arm. The reaction was not what he was expecting.

In a second there was a low hiss and Konohamaru lie twenty feet back on the ground with Hanabi crouched down and palm forward. She had her Byakugan activated and a sharp scowl on her face that the members of Team 8 and Naruto thought should not be on an eight-year-olds face. "You disgust me, Sarutobi." The young girl spoke coldly. "Your whole clan has become a disgrace. Nothing but a bunch of worthless monkey loving-huh!"

Seeing the surprised look on her face, the group turned to see Konohamaru standing with his arms swinging limply and head bowed towards the ground. Slowly, a brown color began to spin on the ground around and out of him. "YOU JERK!" he screamed his voice more guttural than normal, before rushing forward and closing the gap between them. Surprised, the girl swung towards his head but he quickly slid behind her in a cartwheel. Using his feet, he grabbed her head and spun around, slamming her into the ground. He pushed off with his hands and jumped back a good few feet, already in the same stance as before only swaying slightly.

Naruto noticed that his muscles were tensed and his body seemed to radiate heat. He didn't know what the brown color chakra was, or why it was visible, but he could tell it was taking a toll on Konohamaru's body. Looking closely he could see the pupil of his eyes took on a diamond like shape, mussels twitching and breathing heavily, obvious reinforcements that the boy was going through charka strain. Hanabi had already picked herself up off the ground and was glaring daggers at the odd boy. Quickly the two then began to run at the other but were stopped by Naruto and Hinata.

"Enough!" They yelled landing between the two and tossing them back with ease. Hinata felt she should have stopped this further, but the young Sarutobi's change had taken her by surprise. Sentiments that Naruto had agreed upon, if only silently.

"Hanabi, say you're sorry." Hinata asked kindly, looking down at her young sister.

"Or what?" The younger girl growled, angrily wiping off the dirt from her back. "You're a disgrace." Hinata shrunk back a bit before straightening her back and glaring down at the young girl and taking her sister by surprise with the look of defiance. Faster than Hanabi could anticipate, her older sister had placed a stern hand upon her shoulder. "Watch your tone, Imoto-chan!"

"Konohamaru, apologize as well." Naruto said, putting away a deck of cards that he had taken out before the 'fight' began. The ninja noticed that the brown chakra had quickly receded once Naruto had placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. _What was that…_

"HELL NO!" There was a puff of smoke and the two were suddenly tied together in Ninja wire. "HEY!" They yelled, their backs pressed together.

"Huh…it actually worked." Naruto laughed picking up two playing cards. He then turned to the two children who were tied back to back. "You two aren't leaving until you say sorry.

"I'm not saying sorry to her!"

"I agree. It's beneath the Hyuga to apologize to commoners."

"Then you're not leaving and I'll just go get Iruka and ask why you four aren't in class." The blonde mused. "Also, _Hyuga_, keep in mind that the so called commoner is the Hokage's grandson and has just as much, _if not more_, social standing that you." He added, watching the girl pale slightly. "I'm sure our village leader would love to hear what you spoke about his clan…

"I don't go to that school." Hanabi said smugly. "And it's not like the Hokage will believe a street rat like you."

"Father dropped you off this morning, Hanabi-nee-chan." Hinata spoke. "And Naruto-kun happens to be very close friends with the Hokage. As well as one of his shinobi."

"Keep quiet, you worthless piece of-"

"-YOU DON'T TALK TO FAMILY THAT WAY!" Naruto roared, emitting a small amount of KI, shutting everyone up. Much to his surprise, instead of shy away from him, Hinata had taken a step closer to him. It calmed him down slightly, which she knew it would, before the girl turned to her younger sister.

The group watched in surprise as Hinata calmly walked to the young girl and smacked her across the face. "Watch your mouth, Hyuga Hanabi!" Hinata's eyes narrowed at the clearly shocked girl. "I may not want to fight you for our _clans_ amusement," she spat heatedly. "But that's only because you're my baby sister. That does _not_ mean you can speak to me the way you do any longer. I am your older sister, and as such, I can, and will, discipline you when you act out."

The little girl's eyes, dropped to the ground, looking seriously cowed as her sister continued. "Whatever notions the elders and father have put into your head, you had better think long and hard about them. You're loyalties lie with this village, _as a whole,_ not just to the clan_._ We do not grace the leaf with our presence; it is they who grace us with theirs." Hinata's voice dropped as she looked at the girl softly. "You want to be a ninja, correct?" the child gave a nod. "Then you need to look at the big picture of things. You want to part of a large group. Its good to have pride in who you are, but it will get you killed if you put too much pride into it. Now," she finished, standing up and looked at the two solemn children. "Say you're sorry, you two."

"S-sorry Hanabi…"

"S-sorry Konohamaru…"

"Good." Naruto smiled. With a snap of his fingers the rope disappeared. He was extremely proud of Hinata for doing that. It was weird, but in a good way, to see the once shy girl stand up for herself and put her younger sister in her place. _It's amazing what nearly dying can do_ He thought, while turning to the young Sarutobi. "Konohamaru, I'm leaving for a C-rank mission today. So I'll be gone for a while." Naruto smiled. "I'll help you with some new moves when I get back though."

"Cool! Good luck boss!" The boy, and his two friends, replied, "Be careful though." The child's face had fallen a bit, and a look of worry had crossed his face.

"I'll be fine, you just get to class." The boy nodded and ran off, the other three following behind quickly.

"Damn, Hinata!" Kiba laughed. "You sure grew a backbone in a short time!" The boy looked at her with apprising eyes; one's that, if he was honest with himself, Naruto did not like. "I wonder why you haven't shown this side during training."

"Well…um…I never really found the need." Hinata blushed. "I should prob'ly try and be more assertive though…"

"It would indeed help our teamwork, knowing that you can hold your own in different situations." Shino spoke monotonously. "Be that as it may, I must be off. Father would like me to help with a few new insects today." With a nod towards his teammates and Naruto, the enigmatic boy calmly walked in the direction of the village.

"Yeah, I got to get going too." Kiba added, placing his hands behind his head. "Sis wanted me to help at the kennel again. Anyway, Later Hinata and Good luck on your mission, Naruto!" He added, turning to follow his bug using teammate, Akamaru quickly follow in his maters footsteps.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata mumbled as she watched her teammates leave. "What gate are you leaving from?"

"Southern, why?" he asked, quirking and eyebrow.

"I want to give you something before you leave, so wait for me, please…" She was blushing and tapping her fingers together, but looking at him with hopeful eyes.

"Sure thing, Hinata-chan!" He smiled. "I'll see you in a bit!" With that he disappeared into the bushes

* * *

**Review, comments, questions and Flames are Welcome!** **=)**


	6. Three Demons of Mist

**The Demons of the Mist**

Naruto smiled contentedly at the charm bracelet hanging from his belt. Hinata had given it to him just before he had left. So far it had three charms: a four leaf clover, two hands grasping each other and a fox's head- Luck, Friendship and Trickery; things that seemed to describe him perfectly. It had been two days since Team 7 and Tazuna had left the leaf village on their way towards Wave and the entire team was bored out of their mind. While it was nice to be out of the village walls for once, each of the Genin was hoping something would happen! Heck, a wild animal attacking would be preferred over Kakashi's giggling and the bridge builder's drunken ramblings.

Naruto idly fingered the bracelet once more remembering their parting at the southern gate with a soft smile.

_"Be careful, Naruto-kun." Hinata had mumbled after handing him the bracelet. She looked like she had sprinted to her clan home and back again. Naruto wouldn't be surprised to know that she had. He smiled widely at the gift before looking back at the young woman._

_"Thanks Hinata-chan!" He blushed, noticing the soft look she was giving him. "It's really nice!"_

_She giggled, brining her hand up to cover her mouth. "It also describes you perfectly." Her face quickly lost its happy look, sagging into a more concerned one. "Naruto-kun…please be safe…"_

_"It's just a C-class mission, Hinata-chan." He assured her, affectionately placing a hand on top of her head. She blushed and gave mocking glare. "Don't worry." It was an amusing sight, he was sure, considering the Hyuga Heiress was an inch or two taller than him, but he just loved seeing the alive sparkle in her eye whenever she found something funny. She was beautiful that way…_

_"You're right. I guess I'm just nervous." She blushed, brushing his hand off of her head, but gave his hand a small squeeze before it dropped to his side. "You should get going. I'll see you soon."_

The look in her eyes told him that she thought something might happen; the same as Konohamaru had before he left. _'They're just friends that are worried,'_ he mentally told himself, while taking out his deck of cards and biting his right pointer finger, he began writing on the back of the first card. He needed something to distract his mind from the thought of them.

"Why are you writing on the back of playing cards, Naruto?" Kakashi asked, actually looking up from his book. The man was curious, as he had never seen that application of seals before. In the nearly two months that the team had been together, he had gotten over his grudge against the boy and learned to see that he was a good student. In fact, all of his students were endearing to him. Slowly but surely, they were making him proud to be their sensei. It was an odd feeling for him…

"You'll see…eventually." The boy smiled, without looking up from his work. Suddenly, something inside his gut flared, putting him immediately on edge.

"Where's your usual BINGO book?" Sakura asked.

"I finished it." He replied glancing sideways at two puddles on either side of the road. Naruto discreetly dropped two of the cards that landed on each puddle as the group passed. 'It hasn't rained in days either-' Suddenly, the 'puddles' leaped into the road, forming into two men with gauntlets shaped like hands connected to a spiked metal chain that wrapped around Kakashi. With a sharp tug, the two tore Kakashi to pieces.

"One down." One said, over Sakura's horrified scream.

"Three to go." The other finished, dashing toward Naruto, while the other headed towards Tazuna.

"Sakura protect Tazuna!" Sasuke yelled as the tossed a kunai, pinning the attacker's chain to a tree. The man never even faltered as he unhinged the gauntlet and continued his attack. "Dobe run!" Sasuke yelled, seeing his teammate wasn't moving.

Naruto smirked raising his hand as the man leaped. With a snap of his fingers, the card on the offending mans' chest exploded into thick wire and tied him to a tree. The force of the pull caused the metal claw to stretch further than Naruto expected, grazing the length of his arm and drawing a blood. _'Damn it!'_ the boy inwardly growled, watching as blood trickled out of the wound. _'What the hell was I thinking? That nearly didn't work!' _He quickly looked towards the other man to see his other wire lying on the ground and the attacker kicking Sasuke away before running at a scared, yet determined, Sakura.

"Sakura!" The girl's teammates yelled, each rushing to try and intercept the missing-nin. The man was suddenly stopped as Kakashi grabbed the man in a headlock, knocking him out. Naruto and Sasuke sighed before turning to the other. "Saved your ass." Sasuke smirked, eyes glinting with a familiar light. '_You alright?_' was the unasked question. The Uchiha had stolen a glance towards Kakashi's body (after hiding his shock that his sensei was, in fact, alive) only to find that the body was a pile of ground up logs. The young man shook his head, now focusing on his injured teammate.

"Didn't need it." Naruto replied with a smirk of his own. "I'll be alright." He assured his other teammate, seeing her come over and gasp at the sight of his sliced arm. She nodded but continued to pull out her first aid kit and begin the wrap the wound up.

"The cut isn't too deep, but I'm going to wrap it just in case," she told him calmly, as she began to secure his arm in the gauze.

"Their claws had poison on them." Kakashi sighed, inspecting one of the gauntlets. He watched his female charge nod and hand Naruto a small pill that he eagerly swallowed. With that taken care of, the Jonin turned his attention to their client. "You have some explaining to do, Tazuna." The man looked quite scared but sighed before looking at the group with pitying eyes.

"My country is in poverty. About a year ago, a man named Gato came to our land and since then has been sucking up our money and resources dry. Our elders had given me what the country had left for this but only could afford a C-rank mission." The old man growled in frustration. "Gato wants me dead because of the bridge I'm building. If it is finished, people from the main land will come in and will boost our economy, taking control out of Gato and his shipping companies' hands. I'm sorry I lied and put your team in danger, but I had no other choice."

"Damn this hurts…" Naruto groaned, catching everyone's attention as he moved his arm around. "You should have told the old man Hokage. I'm sure he would have come up with something to help you, but either way I want to continue on, Kakashi-sensei."

"Naruto are you crazy!" Sakura yelled.

"I spent all that time wanting a better mission, and I finally get one that's a challenge." He said walking over to one of the men tied to a tree. "I'm up for a challenge." He smiled reassuringly.

"I say stay." Sasuke nodded. "After all, someone's got to watch the dobe's back." Sakura's face brightened.

"We know." Naruto sighed, glancing at Sakura, as she and Sasuke walked over to stand by him.

The black haired boy looked to his blond teammate while handing him a packet of smelling salts. "You sure you can interrogate him, dobe?" His teammate hadn't needed to say anything to them. He just knew, as he figured Sakura did, that Naruto was going to try. He really couldn't explain it, and if Sasuke was honest with himself, he was slightly annoyed that he knew someone so well.

Naruto glanced at Kakashi, who was watching the trio with a blank look, before the older man nodded. Naruto retuned the nod and then returned his attention to the tied up man. Out of sight, he heard his sensei walk over to their other assailant. "I can certainly try," he answered, tearing the packet open with a grimace.

"Who are these people?" Sakura asked.

"The Demon Brother's from the village of Mist." Naruto answered looking down at the still unconscious missing-nin. "They have quite the bounty on their heads." He bent low, and placed the packet under than mans nose, almost immediately the missing-nin jerked awake. "Who are you working under?" the Jinchuriki asked.

"Why the hell do you think you are, brat?" he growled. A second later the man's eyes went wide and he tried desperately to back away. Sasuke and Sakura stiffened at the frightened look the man had taken. It surprised the two that whatever Naruto was doing would cause that.

"Who is it!" Naruto growled again, his voice was deeper and far more menacing than it normally sounded to his teammates. A slight pressure in the pit of the stomachs made them take a step back in fear, though they would never admit it out loud.

"Monster!" The man tried crawling up the tree, his back failing to get him very far. Sakura could faintly smell the man's urine as he pissed himself in fear trying to get away from the younger boy.

"WHO!"

"Gat-"

"Not him!" a slap across the man's face interrupted. "Who else is working with you if you failed!"

"I-I don't know! I don't know, I swear! Please don't kill m-me—AH!" the man screamed before fainting and slumping against the tree once more. Naruto sighed, running his hand through his already messy hair. The oppressing atmosphere had gone again, and the Uchiha and Haruno could breathe easily once more.

"What the hell was that!" Sasuke asked, shocked, as Naruto stood up. He hated to admit it but for a second, he feared what Naruto would do. It was a side neither him nor Sakura had ever seen on the normally cheerful boy, and frankly, neither of them wanted to see it again.

"I…learn things when living with Kaje." He smiled cheerfully. "His teammate works for the T & I department, so he taught me some things that would be useful on the field." Before the two could ask him anymore questions, Kakashi appeared again. "I didn't learn anything of use, sensei."

The man nodded, expecting as much. "Neither did I," the cyclops sighed. "He had a cyanide capsule hidden inside his one of his teeth." Sasuke quickly went and checked the other brother, pulling out a fake tooth a minute later, failing to hide the look of disgust that crossed his face for a moment. "Whatever the case," their instructor continued, "What comes next is going to be stronger than a couple of Chunin. I've sent a message to the village asking for them to come and collect the bounties on these two as well as interrogate them further, but hope for back up is not expected considering that the majority of our forces are already on missions." The three looked at their sensei with intense gazes, the seriousness of the situation falling upon each of their shoulders. "We'll rest here for a while and then we'll continue on."

* * *

It had been a few hours since their run-in with the Demon Brothers. The team had been on constant pins and needles since their first encounter, always on the lookout for suspicious activity. Even Sakura was, for once, acting serious, which greatly surprised both the boys. After getting to the ocean's edge, Team 7 boarded a small boat to reach Wave. The ride was slow, due to them having to row instead of using the engine as to not be heard, but soon they reached land. "Be on your guard, team." Kakashi warned as they got into their positions around Tazuna.

As the group continued to walk the team began to feel very nervous. Each of them was sweating a bit and eyes darted from side to side. Kakashi mused to himself that his team was surprisingly handling things quite well for being such a potentially high ranked mission. Despite his thoughts on the group reminding him of his own team back during the war, he realized that as time went on and he worked with the three further, the similarities between the two teams, while close to one another, were also very far.

Sasuke was, at least in his mind, a spitting image of a younger Kakashi. The boy was a prodigy. He worked tirelessly and his attacks, techniques, and plans were nearly flawless, for a Genin. He was driven, even though Kakashi did not like his particular drive, and it certainly made him worthy of the Rookie of the Year title he had been given. Things came naturally to the boy and it showed. While not a stickler for the rules as Kakashi had been, the young Uchiha reminded him of himself.

But then again, the boy was already starting to open up, something that Kakashi had not done until it was too late. Even though the young man had his misgivings towards his two teammates, already Kakashi could see that Sasuke could read the two other Genin's actions and plan accordingly, just as they could do with him. It was astounding the amount of progress these three had made in just less than two months of training together. It was a trust that had crept up on the three and influenced them subconsciously, and was only a matter of time before they consciously realized it.

Sakura was someone that reminded him of his former teammate, Rin. Like the Inuzuka, Sakura was kind and understanding towards both her teammates (a little more violent towards one of them sadly) but could not hold her own until recently. She was making, to his surprise, astonishing progress from her former level after leaving the academy. Already the young Haruno was delving into the medical arts (something that Kakashi had noticed while subtly watching the three Genin after training) and taking to it like a fish to water. He was curious to know, though, what made her want to pursue that particular ninja art?

Whatever it was, it had improved her attitude towards the ninja life as a whole. He had watched her pour over countless medical books, making notes, and even going as far as to try to perform techniques on fish (a very advanced technique for beginning medical users). While she had yet to make any success in that regards, she had not given up and was, as far as he knew, still trying. However, all this begged the question of why she showed the same fan-girl attitude during training? Yes, it was toned down, but it was still there. The Jonin knew it would not just go away, but what did the girl have to hide?

On the subject of hiding, Kakashi's mind drifted toward the final member of Team 7, Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto. Kakashi would be the first to tell you that he did, in fact, hate the boy. At least that would be his response if you had asked him a month ago. Yet, slowly but surely, the young blond had shown him that he was not the demon that he contained and was just a hard working ninja that had been given a horrible lot in life. Kakashi trusted his sensei's seals; they were the best of the best and could not fail. He knew that, but that stigma could not be broken so easily, or at least until Naruto had wormed his way into Kakashi's heart. The boy had an air about him that made people want to trust him, to believe in him, and it was something that reminded Kakashi of Obito the most. Kakashi's former teammate was just like that. In addition, just like the deceased Uchiha, the blond Genin goofed off just as much.

Unlike the Uchiha though, Naruto had carefully hidden his potential behind a mask of the dead last. The boy had taken the deceptive aspect of Shinobi life and had breathed it. Lived it for years, so much so that he was nearly swallowed by it. '_Just like Gai,'_ the man thought with a silent sigh. Naruto, after a week of training, could very well hold his own against both Sasuke and Sakura in a spar, if only just barely. He won half of their matches based solely on the boy's creativeness and dirty tricks, something that the other two were very quick to cotton on to and emulate in their spars as of late. If Kakashi had to guess, Naruto was on par with, or maybe just below, Sasuke's level, which was good since it gave the self-proclaimed avenger more of a challenge to work harder.

The three Genin had teamwork that was on par with the Sannin. It was a thought that sent shivers of excitement down the man's spine. If he could train these three properly, they would be known and feared throughout all of the elemental nations. Kakashi just prayed that they did not turn out like the current incarnations: a Letcher, a Drunk gambler, and a deranged psychopath. '_I just have to make sure they survive this mission first,'_ he thought with another sigh. He was pulled from his thoughts when his blond student began to be beaten over the head for, from what he could tell, nearly killing a white rabbit the boy found hidden in a bush.

_'White rabbit?'_ Kakashi thought before feeling a slight pickup of chakra from behind them, as well as a low swoosh of an object speeding through the air. "Get down!" the man yelled pulling Tazuna down. Sasuke grabbed Sakura and Naruto right when a zanbatō spun where their necks should have been a second ago and dug itself deep within a tree. As it hit, a man with bandages on his mouth and scars all over his body landed on the huge weapon. His black, eyebrow-less eyes looked malevolently at the group. On his head, tilted to the side, was his headband with the insignia of the village Hidden in the Mist crossed out. When he spoke, his voice was gruff and menacing behind his bandages. "Hatake Kakashi, also goes by the name 'Copy-cat' Kakashi. What a surprise this is." He laughed, taking in the group as if they were ants.

"You must be-"

"-Momochi Zabuza. A former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the 'Bloody' Mist." Naruto interrupted. "You were exiled and named rouge after a failed coup d'état against the Mizukage, Yagura. You're listed as a high A-rank, low S-rank, Missing-nin. You also killed your entire graduating class without ninja training, giving you the name 'Demon of the Mist'."

_'Shit, we won't be able to handle him for very long…'_ the Uzumaki panicked internally.

"I'm flattered that one so young knows of me." The proclaimed demon spoke, eyeing Naruto with newfound interest.

"I find other villages history…entertaining." Naruto suppressed a shudder. He should not have spoken. It painted a much larger target on his head then needed right now, especially with this man. But his voice worked solely out of fear; this was a situation that he did not expect to be in, even though he should have.

"Who are you?"

"Uzumaki Naruto." He replied with a small bow, watching as Zabuza laughed. He had hoped that a little theatrics might distract the man, but it obviously did not work.

"So you are one of the last Uzumaki?" he asked. "And the boy with the fan on his back is an Uchiha." He chuckled before turning his attention back to Naruto. "I've met another one of you before. Kaje was it?" Naruto, despite his protests, could not help but give a slight reaction at the sound of his brother's name. One that Zabuza seemed to take pleasure in. "Yes, he's given me quite a few of these scars. It's ironic what has happened to him and who you're sided with…Given your history."

Naruto's eyes widened further as fear gripped him. "What do you know of my brother?" he whispered shakily.

"I'm not one to say." The 'demon' laughed, grabbing the hilt of his blade. "Kakashi, hand over the old man and I'll spare your team of children."

"No can do, Zabuza." Kakashi replied dryly, lifting his forehead protector to reveal a Sharnigan eye.

"How can he have the Sharnigan!" Sasuke whispered softly. "Is he-" Just then, Zabuza leapt from the tree and landed waters surface. Naruto watched closely as he performed a few hand seals then said darkly, "Kirigakure no Jutsu!" Slowly, a thick mist began to enclose the area.

"Sairento Kiringu no Jutsu…" Naruto gasped, glancing at his teammates.

"I take it we need to be careful?" Sakura whispered as she backed up to cover Tazuna's left side, knowing the other two had moved as she did, forming a triangle around their client. She could not help but feel nervous as chakra, laced with killer intent, flooded her senses. Even so, she struggled to suppress her body from shaking and pay attention.

"Hm…" Naruto nodded. "If we're not, we'll be dead before we know it." He sighed, closing his eyes in concentration.

"Eight points," a voice grinned. "Liver, lungs, spine, jugular vein…carotid artery, brain…kidneys, heart." The three Genin stiffened as the killing intent spiked unnaturally.

"Where's it coming from?" Sakura yelled. "It seems like he's everywhere!" She couldn't breathe; her lungs felt like they were going to collapse with every breath she took. She could vaguely feel Sasuke and Naruto trying to force chakra through the area, hoping it was a genjutsu that was causing them to feel this vulnerable and weak. The weak feeling that she knew the two hated above all else, a feeling that she was starting to hate just as much. It had to be a genjutsu that was doing this and not their own inexperience…

"Now, which critical point shall I choose?"

_'So much killing intent…'_ Naruto thought, scared, his hands shaking as he tried to weave hand signs together. It was all he could do to not snap his own neck and get away from this oppressive feeling. Nothing, not even the villagers' avoidance of him felt this horrible. He wanted to die, but he knew he couldn't…not yet…_ 'Kami, please let this work!'_

_'This is what it's like…'_ Sasuke thought, trembling. _'Two Jonin ready to kill each other at a moments notice…You almost want to kill yourself to get away…' _Slowly and without notice, he began to raise his kunai. He wanted to die! This was too much! Not even Itachi had made him feel this powerless, this pathetic…he just wanted to get away by any means necessary!

"Calm down, everybody!" Kakashi shouted making the three stop. His chakra suddenly flooded the three Genin, calming them down instantly. "I won't let my comrades die. I promise."

"Too late." Zabuza retorted, appearing in the center of the group. The three children stiffened in fright, but, before their foe could strike, Kakashi appeared with his blade sticking out of Zabuza's side- a clean kill shot. But instead of blood, there was water pouring from the wound.

There was a dark chuckle before Kakashi was cut in two by another Zabuza who was behind him. However, like the former clone, he too popped into water as well. _'He copied my technique in an instant and used it.' _Zabuza thought as a blade was pressed against his neck.

"It's over." Kakashi growled, pressing the blade closer to the mist ninja's neck.

"So you think," he said as he burst into water. Kakashi's eyes widened and he stumbled back as a large zanbatō pierced the ground where he was standing. Using it as a post, Zabuza spun and kicked Kakashi, sending him flying into the lake. "Suirō no Jutsu." The silver haired Jonin was trapped inside a large bubble of water, Zabuza's arm holding it in place.

"Kakashi-sensei!" The group yelled. A water clone appeared a few feet in front of the two. "I think I'll kill your team first, Kakashi, right in front of you."

"Take Tazuna and run!" Kakashi yelled. "This fight was over the minute I was captured."

"Shit!" Naruto cursed. "We need a—" Zabuza's clone suddenly appeared in front of the group, zanbatō arched mid swing. Kakashi watched horrified as, in an instant, the Demon of the Mist's clone carved a bloody arch through the three Genin and their charge. He watched as the bodies of his students, each with a horrified look upon their faces, fell gracefully to the ground before suddenly exploding into a fiery ball of flame and molten steel, killing the clone.

It was this that caused the astonished Zabuza to barely block the projectiles coming at him and his captive from the tree to their left. Raising his blade, he watched with veiled surprise as playing cards indented themselves into his famed blade before exploding, nearly taking his arm off in the process. As it was, the force of the blast knocked the blade away from him and pushed him further into the water, surprisingly still holding Kakashi in place. "You brats!" the missing-nin roared, facing the tree where the odd weapons came from.

Naruto cursed as Sasuke and Sakura helped him up. Using the Jibaku Bunshin no Jutsu, putting them under a Henge to make them appear like his party, and having them go off at a specific point after their death, as well as those card bombs and Kawarimi no Jutsu took a lot out of him, even with his large chakra reserves. He was tired and his disappointment that his plan did not work was not making the situation any better. "Damn it…" he murmured as he watched the man ground himself more on the water.

"Good job, Naruto." Sakura spoke, fully lifting him up with Sasuke's help. "You got his sword away from him." She was surprised the plan did not work fully, but at least Zabuza's reach couldn't kill them any quicker. She watched Sasuke nod with a tight smirk upon his face. She knew, even though he still would not admit it, her crush was impressed with the blond-haired boy's plan. _'We've all changed so much in two months…' _she thought with a happy sigh.

"Yeah, Dobe, now leave it to the professionals." Sasuke silently took out a large Oni-Shuriken, and unfolded it. "I think I can distract him with this while you make another one in its shadow." The Uchiha turned towards Sakrua. "Think you can guard me while I—"

"—I don't think I'll letcha do that." Turing quickly the trio froze as a man appeared behind them and their charge. Tazuna stiffened and shakily glanced behind him. The man was tall, not overly so, but shorter than Kakashi, with green eyes and red hair that touched his shoulder. He wore a short sleeved, yellow shirt, covered by a thigh length blue jacket and green pants and sandles. None of them could see a Hitai-ate. In his hands was a simple katana, poised to strike right at the old man. "Goodbye, bridge builder." He smiled before striking.

Acting on instincts, Sasuke swung the oni-shuriken as hard as he could, knocking the blade out of the way. Sadly, at the same time, Sakura tackled Tazuna out of the way causing the sword to pierce her shoulder instead before being ripped out as Naruto grabbed the three and leaped back into the clearing. The three landed harshly, each barely being able to stand up. Sasuke, thinking quickly, threw the oni-shruiken at a still steaming Zabuza who caught the blade but dove out of the way from the incoming one hidden in the shadow, freeing Kakashi.

"What are you three doing, I said—" Kakashi was stopped by Zabuza who was quick to continue his attack upon the 'copy-cat'. Pissed off, Kakashi knew he had to focus on his battle and not his students. He prayed he could end this as quickly as possible.

Naruto sighed in relief as Zabuza leaped away from the henged clone he had thrown at the last second. It seemed their half-baked plan worked and had successfully freed Kakashi, but now the three were pitted against another unknown character. Turning quickly to help defend his friends, Naruto's heart stopped as he caught sight of a kunai blade aimed for his eye, wielded by a dark haired woman. There was a pull from somewhere inside his body that did not feel like his or his tenant's chakra, and he suddenly found himself behind the woman. As sound rushed back into his ears, he could hear a pissed off Sakura's cry of _'Shānnarō!'_ Leaping away from the woman, he saw Sakura punch the woman in the side of the face with surprising force, causing her to skid across the ground only to be caught by her partner.

"Are you okay, Naruto?" Sasuke called, jumping to his teammate's side, quickly joined by an equally concerned Sakura. Naruto numbly nodded, watching the two adversaries, all the while trying to pay equal attention to their sensei's battle and the bridge builder who was pressed against a tree behind them.

"You're quick, boy." The woman smiled predatorily as the male helped her up. Her voice was soft, nearly music like, but with a hint of danger thrown in. "How'd you do that?"

Naruto and the three just glared at the duo, their weapons at the ready. Sasuke and Sakura could feel the chakra draining from their bodies with each second that passed, their attention split just like their teammates'. While both were silently impressed by the actions of the blond, they knew they could wait until later to ask the same question. "Who are you?" Sasuke asked, eyeing their opponents carefully. "Why did you interfere with our battle?"

"Such a naive boy!" The male laughed. "To think that once a battle has started nobody else could join in. You Uchiha really are arrogant." His voice was deep, nearly baritone. If Naruto had been standing next to the man, he would bet that his ribs would be vibrating from the sound alone. "And yet, you are surprising. That little plan you came up with actually worked. Certainly took Zabuza by surprise. Your teamwork is also quite good."

"Answer the question!" Sakura yelled, no doubt acting braver than she actually felt. Like her teammates, she could feel the power radiating off these two, and it was on a higher level than they currently were.

The smiling man's grin vanished in an instant and he glared at her. "No." he spoke calmly, taking a step forward (and the Genin a step back). "I don't think I will."

"You should help your sensei up," the woman chimed with a sickening smile. "He seems to have killed Zabuza-chan." Taking a risk, the three took their eyes off their opponents and saw the missing ninja being taken away by, what looked to be, a hunter ninja. Quickly turning back, team 7 noticed that the two were nowhere in sight.

"They're gone," a cracked voice spoke from behind the three. The trio spun and saw that Tazuna was looking at the group with gratitude and a little bit of shame. He did not think that Gato would go this far to kill him, and it made him worry for the safety of not only these kids, but for his family back home. He decided immediately that he was bringing the team to his home, if only for a little more protection. "They disappeared when you weren't looking; a very stupid move on your part." He saw, with a little satisfaction, that the three kids seemed to deflate in a touch of shame on their actions.

Moving slowly, the group made their way towards their sensei, whom was lying on the ground. With a slight hint of fear, Sakura made her way over and checked Kakashi's pulse. Sighing in relief, which cause the other two to do the same, she looked towards Naruto and Sasuke. "He's alive, just unconscious, probably chakra exhaustion." She quickly plopped down next to the man and began to shake uncontrollably, tears falling from her eyes. The adrenaline had worn off and the situation now just hit her. She had been so close to death just now and it scared her more than anything. Before the pinkette could fully breakdown, she felt two strong hands place themselves upon her shoulders. Looking up she saw both Sasuke and Naruto trying to support her, despite the fact that they both looked just as lost, confused, and scared as her. _'I…I have some truly good teammates…no…friends…_' she thought with a watery smile. Unknown to her, her thoughts mirrored the two boys' as Team Seven did its best to comfort one another.

* * *

**Author's Note:  Hello one and all! I'm proud to say that I am back after a long year and MANY problems with my computer. I'm EXTREMELY sorry that this has taken so long, but my computer, as I said before, had stopped working. I've since then, fixed that problem, for the most part. I hope that everyone has enjoyed this chapter, frankly, I loved writing it!  
**

**More chapters to come as soon as I can and I PROMISE you, it will not be MONTHS before they are up...hopefully. Haven't been very good on that part but I can say that I'm trying my best.  
**

**As always, a HUGE thank you to Ohiogal593. Without her, this story would be riddled with mistakes.  
**

**Per usual, Questions, Comments, Reviews, and Flames are welcome!  
**

**~Kingdom219**


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